Kingdom of The Crescent Dawn
by Another one of those please
Summary: Kings are fated to lead. Assassins are fated to kill. Jaune has been preparing the day when he take over the reins from his father. His family is doing their best to help him out with it. Jace is the literal black sheep of the family. He has a more than a tendency to dance with the devil Update: I have decided to stop writing RWBY fanfic and port my stories to FictionPress.
1. Memories Found

_"Jaune, come down here my son. I have someone for you to meet." James was at the center of a large ball room filled with people from all corners of Remnant. In the center of the room was a large rug with the Arc emblem. Standing next to the king was a giant of a man. He had a long red mane, full facial hair and a purple Chalmys with a large bronze clasp._

 _Jaune quickly disengaged from the conversation with the Minister of Defense and walked slowly down the stairs. He tried to remind himself that strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet, just as his mother had said. However, he couldn't help but feel that most people he had met so far are just insincere. They try to use him to get close to his parents, some even suggesting arranged marriages between him and their daughters. Many had thought that he was just a fourteen-year-old and didn't really care about him as a person, only his status as Crown Prince of Arcadia. "Jaune, I would like you to meet Mr. Alexios Nikos. Mr. Nikos was a good friend of mine when I attended Beacon. He will also be our first official ambassador from Mistral."_

 _The giant of a man offered his equally giant hand, dwarfing Jaune's own as they shook. "Nice to meet you, Jaune. Please, call me Alex." Alex then motioned to behind him. A girl, slightly shorter than Jaune slowly popped her head out. "Come on Pyrrha, don't be rude. This is Jaune. He is the same age as you."_

 _"Hel…lo" Pyrrha shyly walked out from her father's shadow. She was wearing a simple dark red chiton and the same bronze clasps as her father._

 _"Jaune, why don't you give Pyrrha a tour of the palace." James cracked a grin as Alex nodded his head._

 _"Sure father." Jaune smiled lightly. He didn't really mind the introverted girl; at least she was better than the ones that throw themselves on him just so they might be a queen in the future. Also it was a good excuse to leave the ball and stay away from the sycophants. "Come on."_

 _Pyrrha let out a 'meep' as Jaune grabbed her hand and practically dragged across the room to the exit._

 _"They would make a good pair." James offhandedly commented._

 _"Yes they would." Alexios nodded in agreement, "Which is why I brought Pyrrha today. James, I wish to formally offer my daughter's hand in marriage to your oldest son as a show of friendship between Mistral and Arcadia."_

 _James half laughed and half sighed, "Alex, I would love to accept but I will not auction off my any of my children's lives for political power. Also Jane would kill me if I do this without her consent. How about we see what comes out of tonight first."_

 _"Thirty lien say that your son will propose within the hour." Alex smirked, If Jaune was anything like his father, this bet will be no problem at all._

 _"Oh, you are on!"_

* * *

 _"Where...are we…going?" Pyrrha was barely able to speak as Jaune raced down the halls with her in tow._

 _"My room! Where else?" The redhead blushed a deep shade of crimson as she thought of the implications of that phrase._ No! We are too young to be doing that!

 _Jaune and Pyrrha raced past several guards who just winked at them. As they turned the corner they ran into an open air corridor. The scent of lavender and orchids perfused from the botanical garden surrounding the open hallway. There were also several trees with in the large expanse, including apple and pear._

 _By the time they have arrived at the door to Jaune's room, the boy was out of breath. "Come on in." Jaune opened the door and pulled Pyrrha in._

 _And there she stood in the middle of a huge room. It was much less a room than a standalone compound. After entering through the door, there was a living-room-like space with couches and a coffee table. To the side there was a study and a wall of books. Opposite of the study was the bedroom, containing a giant king-sized bed_ **(no pun intended)** _along with a bathroom with what is best described as a Jacuzzi made of granite and assorted rocks. All of the spaces were separated by opaque glass panels and almost everything had the signature twin crescents adorned on the most visible surfaces._

 _"Ah, I am so tired." As soon as Jaune entered his own room, he dove for one of the sofas. "I hate those bootlickers so much! So, what do you want to do?"_

 _Pyrrha fearfully looked at the boy. She did not know what he wanted from her. "I…thought that… you were going...to show…me the palace."_

 _"Oh that's right. Sorry, I was kind of focused on getting out of there first." Jaune covered his face with his hand. He was really exhausted from the party. "If you want I could show you around."_

 _Pyrrha shook her head. "It's ok…You…look really…tired."_

 _Jaune cracked a smile at the girl. "Thanks."_

 _The blonde removed his hand from his face and tried to converse with the redhead. "So, Pyrrha right?"_

 _The girl nodded but did not respond verbally. She was still fearful of what the boy might do._

 _"How was your trip here?" Again, Pyrrha did not reply. Jaune just chuckled a bit. "You need to relax a bit. Do you know how to dance?"_

 _Pyrrha finally give an answer, "A bit."_

 _"Come on then, I know this place where no one will disturb us." Pyrrha blushed for the third time that night as Jaune jumped up from his seat and pulled her out in to the hall way._

 _They were running again. This time, the pair went across the garden to a place under the grand balcony of the ball room. There they could hear the music without any hindrances._

 _"Right here. This is the place." Jaune ushered Pyrrha to right under the balcony so no one can see them. Jaune suddenly stopped. As he turned around, a new song began to play as if on cue._

 _"May I have the honors, my lady?" The blonde prince bowed down in front of the girl, holding his hand out. Once more Pyrrha's face flushed in embarrassment. She hesitated as to decide whether or not to dance with the prince in front of him. Many of her friends have dreamt of this moment; when a prince would come and carry them away to a happily ever after, but Pyrrha never had time to amuse these fantasies as her time would be mostly spent on training and training. And here he was, a proper prince on his knees right in front of her, asking for a dance, all the while she was blushing up a storm._

 _"Yes." She timidly took his hand into hers as he stood up. He wrapped his arm around her back and they both waited for the right moment in the music._

 _Then it began._

 _The melodic music rang throughout the garden as the two teenagers danced furiously in pace. It was a fast tango, a passionate and explosive war between two opposing sides. Jaune found the girl to be quite skilled at dancing, if not a bit too aggressive and raw. Ironic, isn't it? A timid, nervous little girl almost overpowering a proud and dignified prince._

 _The music got faster and faster, the battle became more and more fierce and more importantly intimate. Both got closer and closer to each other as they tried to match the speed and power in each step._

 _And for once, Pyrrha smiled. It was not at all like the boring and monotonous combat or dancing courses that she had to take; instead, it was more like a dialogue between partners. Her face was no longer a bright crimson; instead it was adorned with a smile, a pure and unfiltered sense of joy._

 _She started to laugh uncontrollably, to which Jaune just beamed calmly. He liked her smile, it was sincere and true, unlike the many other partners he had before._

 _After what seemed like an only but a minute, the music stopped. Both teens collapsed on to the grass, panting for air. They both turned their heads and gazed into each other's eyes, smiling._

 _"Thank you Jaune… Thank you for dancing with me." Pyrrha finally started speaking without pause, or at least she would of have if not for the heavy breathing._

 _"The pleasure was all mine." Jaune felt satisfied, he finally found a friend whom didn't really see him as a prince, rather a living, breathing human being, and he was happy. "Hold up, wait right here. I'll get us some refreshments."_

 _Jaune got up and walked towards an apple tree. Pyrrha was confused for a second why Jaune was going to a tree for drinks, but soon realized that he was getting apples for them. She blushed heavily again for the fourth time that night. By the time that Jaune came back, the redhead was practically having a mental breakdown._

 _"Here, have one." Jaune chucked a giant apple out in one hand as he bit down on the other one. Pyrrha nervously caught the fruit into her hand but did not eat it. She shifted nervously, "Um…I have to think about it…" Before she even finished the sentence, she turned around and sprinted away, back into the palace._

 _"Wait… What is the matter!?" Jaune was very confused._ What just happened? Did I do something?

 _He quickly got up and chased after her._

* * *

 _James was having a great time at the ball, he danced a bit with dignitaries from around the world. Had a couple of drinks with Alex and a couple of other friends. The fun night, however, was not to last._

 _Soon, a servant came up to the king with a note from his wife. Jane had wanted to talk to him in relative privacy. He excused himself from his guests and proceeded to move towards a quieter section of the ball room._

 _"How is your night so far, darling?" Jane Arc was a short little woman with the same blonde hair and blue eyes that the Arcs were renowned for. It was hard to tell that she was not a part of the family by blood._

 _"So far so good, how is yours?"_

 _"Well I just came off of the phone with Valeria Schnee." Jane tried to be as nonchalant about it as possible but James did not take the news well._

 _"What does that snake want?" James's voice was full of venom. His dislike of the Schnee matriarch roots from their days at beacon. In his mind, she was stuck up, rude, and opportunistic._

 _"Calm down James. It was mostly gossip." Jane paused a little, deciding on how to inform her husband of the next part. "She wished, and I agree with her on this, to improve relations between our two families."_

 _"And how does she propose for us to do this?" James did not like where this was going_

 _"Well she informed me that her daughter, Weiss, is the same age as Jaune and Jace, and since Jace isn't exactly available at the moment…" Ok, James definitely did not like where this was going_

 _"No."_

 _"Why?"_

 _Before James could respond, however, there was a loud laugh from the center of the ball room. "Oh ho ho ho, James! Twenty-seven minutes and thirty-three seconds!"_

 _"And there is the reason." Both heads of the Arc clan turned to see Alexios Nikos striding towards them._

 _"Look at this apple, isn't it magnificent?" Alex wore a smug grin on his face as he walked, "I heard that it was an offering from your son to my daughter!"_

 _James smacked his face with his hand. "Alex, I don't think the boy knows what it means."_

 _"Oh? But my daughter certainly thinks so, don't you Pyrrha?" the redheaded girl maintained her blush as she nervously nodded._

 _Jane and the rest of the guests could only guess as to what the two men were talking about. "What is he talking about James?"_

 _The king just sighed, "In Mistral, giving an apple to a girl counts as a marriage proposal."_

 _"And we will be preparing for the feast as soon as they are of age, what do you say?" The giant of a man was enjoying every moment of this exchange, while everyone else dropped their mouths in astonishment_

 _"Whatever you say Alex, whatever you say." James sighed again as he handed his friend thirty lien._

 _"Well then, we shall be retiring to our hotel, my dear friend. We can discuss this further some other date." Alex took his rightful earnings and bid everyone a farewell along with his daughter._

* * *

 _Somewhere else in the palace and completely unaware of the developments in the ballroom, Jaune was desperately searching for Pyrrha. "Where could she have gone?"_

 _He did not notice the six pair of blue eyes that giggled at his struggles._

 ** _AN: For those of you that don't know, the apple throwing as a tradition in Ancient Greece. It originated when Eris, the goddess of Discord, threw a golden apple in to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis labeled "for the fairest one" and Paris of Troy chose Aphrodite as the one to have the apple._**


	2. Arrival at Beacon

**AN: This is the revised chapter one. This is not just a remaster but a rework, meaning that not every character or even will be the same. Just a heads up to readers of the pre-reworked story.**

 _Once upon a time, on Remnant, there one city. A city that was an island in a sea of wild beasts, beacon in a desolate fog of darkness. Man was confined in this great metropolis, for he could not beat back the darkness. Whenever he tried to break the bondage of the soulless, he was beaten back by the shear ferocity of the monsters outside._

 _Then there was a flame._

 _Man had cracked the mysteries of their essence, an ancient power bestowed upon them at birth, and discovered with growth. Aura, a protective force field that encompass all those living and all those sacred. And along with this Aura, man found dust._

 _After that it was only a matter of time for everything else to fall into place; Semblances, hunters, airships. Man started to expand. Expand way beyond what they had thought possible. One city became two, two became four. They were named Vale, Mantle, Mistral, and Vacuo. As more and more grimm fell, man started to grow confident. They no longer find enemies of the beasts outside, but of their fellows inside._

 _But one day, the Grimm came back, this time, stronger than ever. Desperately, each city tried to defend themselves from the oncoming hoard. But the situation seemed worse by each day, entire towns were being swallowed back by the darkness._

 _One man, after finding that the Grimm was being controlled by some entity, realized that in order for humanity to survive, all of the cities will have work together as a whole. So he journeyed to each metropolis to convince the governing bodies to cooperate. And they did. The man led a coalition force from all four cities to confront the grimm while picking four of his best hunters to find and bring an end to the being that manipulated the beasts._

 _The battle was brutal and victory was pyrrhic at best. There were few hunters left standing after the savage melee between the beasts and the warriors. The four hunters managed to destroy the entity, but one of them betrayed the team and took the power for herself. Shocked by the treachery, the other three only had time to seal her at the price of the lives of two._

 _The last member was able to return back to the man that had brought all of them together and report back what had happened. The survivor felt responsible to the failures of his team and asked to be given immortality until the traitor was brought to justice. In order to keep order, the events after the destruction of the entity was not reported to the public._

 _Man however, was not a peaceful species. They turned on their own, on those whom only seemed different. The Faunus. The man who had lead the armies against the grimm was furious, he had worked his entire life for equality for all, and he refused to fight against the Faunus. Instead, he led a group away from Vale, across the mountains, and arrived at the eastern shore. There, they founded a new city, a city for everyone. They named it Arcadia._

 _Soon, Faunus from all over Remnant flooded into the new city. In a desperate attempt to maintain the cheap labor of Faunus, the Valean council decided to annex Arcadia with the help of the reformed Mantle, Atlas. The Arcadians did not have enough power to resist and quietly surrendered. But because of the distance and rugged terrain, Vale was not able to fully control Arcadia and the Arcadians secretly built up their military, waiting for the day of retribution._

* * *

"What do you think Beacon will be like?"

A boy standing next to the window of the shuttle spoke. He stood slightly taller than his peers and had messy blonde hair along with a pair of sapphire eyes. He was also quite toned, his muscles can be easily seen through his hoodie and armor pieces while the white sheathe of the sword strapped on his hip stood out from the navy blue jeans that he wore. Next to him was a boy of shorter stature. Instead of the messy blonde, this teen had curly black hair and dark grey eyes. He wore a suit underneath a long, black trench coat with two silver crescents on his breast along with dark pants. He had a giant claymore almost as tall has him strapped to his back. Aside from the hair and eyes, the two boys actually looked quite alike. Their facial structures were remarkably similar. Both gave off an air of pride and esteem not often found in teenagers of their age.

"I truly don't know. Ozpin will make everything interesting, that is for sure." The shorter teen was busy typing into his scroll while the blonde was looking out towards their destination. A castle loomed in the distance. There was a single tower in the center supported by flying buttresses that overlooks the entire compound. In front was an expansive courtyard with a statue at the end.

"Don't worry, Jace, the headmaster made sure that our identities remain discreet." The blonde haired had guessed what Jace was thinking.

"That is not what I am worried about, Jaune." Jace looked up from his scroll, "What I am worried about is that our parents will come and drag us back home." Jace stood up and looked out the window as he put his scroll into his pocket.

"He also has that covered." Jaune smiled, "He promised to convince dad to let us stay."

Jace grimaced slightly, "He better."

By this time, the shuttle had docked and people were streaming out in to the vast courtyard of Beacon Academy.

"Well, let's get going. Ozpin wants us in his office after the welcoming ceremony." Jaune picked up his duffle bag and walked towards the exit. Jace took one more look outside and then followed his brother.

* * *

 ** _BOOM_**

A sudden explosion rocked the front courtyard.

"What happened?" Jaune quickly scanned the area around them, finding a giant cloud of smoke rising from in front of them.

"seems like fire dust, and a lot of it." Jace walked towards the epicenter of the disturbance.

"…this was exactly the kind of thing that I was talking about!" The brothers saw a half burnt teen clad in what was supposed to be a pale blue bolero with white thigh-length dress yelling at another girl.

"I'm really, really sorry." The other girl was profusely apologizing. She had a tight black and red corset with the inside of her hair dyed red.

The first girl had a face of complete disgust and continued her tirade against her unfortunate victim "Ugh, you complete dolt, what are you even doing here?"

Jaune eyed Jace, _all yours_. Jace sighed and walked up the two girls. "Excuse me, Miss. Would you please calm down. We would like to prevent a scene before school even starts." The black haired teen gave his most convincing smile; He hated brats.

"Who are you? And what are you to tell me, Weiss—. "

"—Schnee? Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world…" Another girl in a monochrome outfit and a black hair ribbon interrupted the white one. Jace narrowed his eyes for an brief moment; How was she able to sneak up on even him?

"Finally. Some recognition." the Heiress eyed the little red head as she puffed her chest up, at least what she could muster before...

"…the same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

"Wha…" Weiss quickly regained her composure from the shock. But before she could respond, Jace physically stepped in between the girls.

"Miss Schnee, please calm down. would you be kind enough to forgive our friends here. They are both very tired and on nerve from the trip and I think it is best if we start moving towards the auditorium."

"Ugh, fine, whatever!" Looking around her, the Heiress found a myriad of eyes staring at her. Realizing that the black haired teen was right, she proceeded stomped towards the auditorium.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" The small girl sighed "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day." She has failed to make friends, again. What is even worse is that her sister, her own flesh and blood sister ditched her at the first chance possible.

"Hello. What's your name?" she turned around only to come face to face with the two brothers.

"Hi! My name is Ruby. What's yours?" Ruby beamed at the boys.

"Jaune, and this is my brother Jace." Jaune responded while Jace just smiled and waved.

"nice to meet you, I also have a sibling…" The girl poked at her own fingers, "But she kind of ditched me."

Jace chuckled, "well, Ruby, why don't we move towards the auditorium, maybe we can find you sister there."

"Wait!" Ruby suddenly called out, "First I want to show you this…" She transformed the folded weapon on her hip. A gigantic scythe almost twice as big as the little reaper popped out.

"Woah" both boys were amazed at how the little girl was able to wield such a large weapon.

"Meet Crescent Rose, she is an extended scythe with a high impact velocity sniper rifle mounted with in the handle, what are your weapons; also my beloved!" the little reaper proceeded to fold the weapon back up and snuggled against it. "What are your weapons?"

Jaune pointed to the English long sword on his hip, "All I have is a sword with a sheathe that folds out into a shield." He refrained from speaking the name of his weapon in fear of being recognized. "it's just an old hand-me-down from my father."

"Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." Ruby then shifted her attention to Jace, who motioned towards the claymore strapped to his back.

"This is the De Guerre; it is a Scottish Claymore that can split into two." Ruby oohed at the sword and reached out to try to touch it, but Jace turned around and walked just out of reach as she got closer. "I think it is time for us to go. Better not be late for the ceremony."

* * *

"Ozpin, do you think is wise to enroll James' sons?" Glynda Goodwitch was walking down the halls with the headmaster as they prepared to welcome the new group of hunters-in-training. She had reservations about the status of the Arc siblings, especially since their father was a very proud man.

"James and Jane doesn't know the whereabouts of his sons yet, and they want to keep it that way." Ozpin nonchalantly sipped his coffee as Glynda looked at him in shock.

"Are you serious!? I mean he has sent everyone messages asking where his children were. Are we going to lie to him?" Although the headmaster seemed crazy at times, Ozpin had never led her wrong, so Glynda gave him the benefit of the doubt… but, this was on a whole new level.

"I'll handle James; you handle the boys. From what I heard, they are quite the Gentlemen." Ozpin did not wait for a response as he walked up the stairs to the podium and motioned for Glynda to follow him.

He chose to ignore the inquisitive set of green eyes that stared at him.


	3. Revelations at Sunset

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Ozpin scanned the crowd of students, several stood out in his view.

He continued his speech, "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Most teens in the room whispered among themselves. Ozpin proceeded to walk off of the stage as Glynda took his place at the podium.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. And will Mr. Jaune and Jace Arc please come towards the podium please. Rest of you are dismissed."

Jaune and Jace looked at each other. "Do you know what does Ozpin want?" Jaune asked Jace who just shrugged.

"I don't know, hopefully it has nothing to do with dad." Jace did not want to get sent back to home.

* * *

"Hello James."

A tall and dignified man with golden hair standing up like a blazing flame appeared in the hologram in the center of the room. He had full golden armor and a red side skirts. "Ozpin, what do I owe the honors?"

"I have something to tell you." Ozpin sipped his coffee, not caring to change his expression.

"Oh, and what would it be?" James acted civilized but Ozpin could tell that the man was getting impatient already.

"I invited your sons to come and attend Beacon and I was the one who provided them with transport to Vale." Ozpin decided to get this over with. He knew the reasons why the Arc brothers left home, but decided that they are a valuable resource to combat the Queen.

"Why wasn't I informed of this decision?" James raised his eyebrow. Ozpin had already anticipated this line of questioning and prepared both himself and Glynda for it.

"Because I required their expertise against the Queen. And if they came to Beacon officially, she would know about it." The headmaster did not change his expression as the Arcadian thought about it.

"Why would you need Jaune then? I understand if you need Jace for ops but I don't see a need for Jaune."

"Why don't you ask them?"

* * *

 _Moments earlier_

"Hi Glynda." Jace smirked at the professor.

"That is Ms. Goodwitch you, Mr. Arc." Glynda glared at the boy, "the fact that we worked together does not give you any extra privileges."

Jace did not back down from the teacher's gaze and matched hers with a toothy grin while elbowing the teacher lightly. "Come on, can't you cut me some slack for all of the times that I saved you and Ozzie?" The teacher blushed at certain memories while Jaune laughed.

They were next to the podium where Ozpin had just given his annual "I am disappointed at all of you" speech and Miss Goodwitch was given the task of "dealing with the boys" as Ozpin put it.

"That is enough bro, let Ms. Goodwitch go." Jaune then turned to the woman, "What is it that you wished to talk to us about?"

"Ahem, Ozpin wishes to ask for your help." Glynda's face turned serious, "This is strictly confidential and you shall not tell anyone else the contents our meetings, is that understood?"

"Yes Ma'am" Jaune answered readily but Jace just stared at the teacher.

"This isn't about the Queen? Is it?" Glynda looked at the black haired teen as if she has seen a ghost. "I have heard of her from some of my contacts." Jace quickly explained.

"Yes, it is. And sadly, not everyone is aware of the danger looming across remnant." The teacher looked worried and tired, "would you like to fill your brother in on who she is?"

"I don't know much about her, only that she took over as Adam Taurus's quote unquote 'mistress'"

Glynda's eyes narrowed at the name, "Who is this Adam Taurus? Why haven't we heard of him?"

"He is the head of the White Fang. Used to have a kitten for a partner. Anyways, why don't we discuss this later, first tell us who the Queen really is." Jace purposefully kept his hand. He knew Ozpin would give him a better price for the information.

"Well, let's walk towards the Headmaster's office as we speak." Glynda proceeded to walk through a door and into another hallway. "The Queen is the code name that we gave to a certain person who serves an ancient evil." Both boys' eyes widened.

"We do not know much about her, only that she wishes to destroy all of humanity and many of the seemingly unrelated crimes were orchestrated by her." The blonde teacher continued grimly, "Assassination of a Valean Councilor, the hijack of Schnee dust shipments, missing Atlas weapons platforms, and now working with the White Fang, these are all related to her somehow."

"That is a wide variety of targets, do we know if she has followers, or is just alone?" Jaune was the one who spoke up. He was already calculating the patterns and movements of this new target.

"We are not sure. The evidence suggests so, but the only contact with the Queen was made by one of our operatives while protecting an asset." They continued to walk through the corridors of the empty school. Most students were in getting ready to go to rest after the long flight to the academy.

"What is this asset?" The taller boy asked.

Glynda sighed, "Guess we would of have to tell you sooner or later." She turned around to face the boys, "Do you believe in fairytales?" her face was serious, and the boys understood the magnitude of the question.

"I'm sorry?" Jace thought he had misheard the professor. _What does fairytales have to do with anything?_

"Fairy tales, stories for children that contain lessons and morals?" Glynda turned her back to the boys and continued walking towards the elevator. "Have you heard of _The Story of the Seasons?"_

"The one about the four maidens?" Jaune had remembered the story clearly, their older sister Josephine would often tell them bedtime stories and this was one of their favorite.

"Yes." Glynda looked back at the boys who in turn looked at her expectantly. "What if I told you that it was all real?"

Silent. The brothers thought about it for a moment.

"Are you telling us that there are really people who are capable of such power?" Jace was the first one to recover from the news.

"Yes, and one of them, the fall maiden to be exact, was attacked by the Queen for her powers. She was our asset."

By now they had arrived at the elevator. As the three walked in, the door closed behind them and Glynda pressed the button for top floor.

"You are taking it fairly well." The teacher commented at Jace.

"This isn't the weirdest thing I have heard." Jace did not look at either the professor or his brother, only at the elevator door.

"One last thing." Glynda spoke up again, "as you enter, Professor Ozpin will be speaking with your father…" Jace snapped around and was about to yell. "…I understand your relationship with your father, but we need this meeting for you to stay."

Jace closed his mouth without another sound.

* * *

"…don't you ask them?"

As the trio stepped out of the elevator they were greeted by the Headmaster and the boy's father, James Arc.

"Father." Jaune bowed slightly while Jace just growled.

"Jaune, why have you left the palace? Do you not realize that we are about to announce our independence?" James did not hesitate to berate his oldest son.

'Father, with all due respect, I have considered all of the possible choices and this is the best path." Jaune looked up, holding his gaze at the man in the golden armor. "My presence is not necessary for the announcement, but however, when the Queen attacks Vale, I will be able to lead a contingent of Arcadian troops to defend this city. That way, we can legitimize our claim to independence from the council. Also, when we occupy Vale, Atlas will have no choice but to agree"

"Hmm, you're are correct, my son. Good thinking." James's cracked a miniscule smile, "What do you require for these plans?"

Jaune looked at Ozpin, who just nodded, and then to Jace, who completely ignored everything and looked away from their father.

"I wish to request a squadron of Night wings, and a division of Arcadian shock troopers. Make sure they are well hidden at the borders. We cannot allow the Queen to notice our troop movements." Jaune roughly estimated that one division should be enough, as for the aircraft, they were mainly there for air cover.

"Very well, request granted." James then turned to the two adults in the room. "Ozpin, despite this, Arcadia will be announcing its separation from Vale as planned."

"That is fine. But you should delay announcing your heir to the throne." Ozpin motioned towards Jaune. "He will be a prime target for not just the Queen."

Jaune raised his hand, "Sir, we have calculated that risk. But considering all of the other high profile attendees of this school, it would not be of significant danger."

"Well if that is all, I will have to leave now." James turned slightly and bid his farewell. "Have a good day, old friend, you Glynda."

"Farewell James." Glynda responded while Ozpin just nodded. The professors did not miss the fact that Neither James nor Jace addressed each other at all.

"Now Jace," Ozpin decided to look over that fact for now, "I have one request for you."

"What is it Ozzie?" Jace did not turn to look at the others, choosing to continue staring out the window.

"As you would of have guessed, Qrow is currently not available in Vale. As such I would like to ask for you to access your contacts in Vale and try to obtain more information on the Queen."

"What of my schoolwork then?"

"You shall be given a special rank and without a partner. Also you will be exempt from some classes. Is that fine with you?"

There was no response, only a pair of grey eyes that stared at the sunset.


	4. Night Before Initiation

"It's like a big slumber party!"

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby focused on writing her journal and ignoring most of the others. The incident with the heiress really took a lot out of her.

"I know I do!" The blonde next to her practically purred at several muscular guys changing into their sleepwear.

Several feet away, the Arc brothers were preparing for tomorrow's initiation. Jace was cleaning his weapons while Jaune was reading a book about types of Grimm. There was a peaceful air between the brothers as if they are used to the setting despite the loud chitchat of their peers around them.

"How much did you bring to beacon?" Jaune broke the silence as he eyed the myriad of blades laid out on Jace's sleeping bag.

"Not much, 5 arrow shafts, 3 smoke and 2 HE tips, 6 ballistic knives, along with De Guerre. Why?" the younger brother did not bother to look up as he continued to rub the blade of a knife with a piece of cloth. Jace had taken off his trench coat and was wearing an all-black suit with a dark tie and armored gloves. He preferred to take only things that he can fit into his outfit, that way he doesn't have to hold on to any backpacks or rucksacks.

"Just wondering what are we working with tomorrow." Jaune scanned the room, looking for possible partners for tomorrow now that his brother is out of the picture. He saw made eye contact with another blonde who was standing next to Ruby. A giant grin appeared on the girls face as she started walking towards them.

"Hello, Blondie." The blonde swayed her hips as she walked. Jaune just smiled at her, then he noticed the smaller girl standing behind the first girl. Jace also noticed the pair but decided to finish up before joining the conversation.

"Hi." A sudden realization popped into his mind, "Ruby?"

"Hey Jaune." The little reaper popped up from behind the blonde and waved, "This is my sister, Yang"

"Nice to meet you Yang." Jaune held out his hand, "I'm Jaune."

"Whew! Ruby why didn't you tell me you are friends with such a hunk?" Yang whistled as she slapped Jaune's hand. The other blonde just laughed as the small reaper blushed and hid further behind her sister. This wasn't the first time that Jaune had interactions with vivacious women, but Yang had bitten the cake. She had wavy long blonde hair, ample bosom and nice hips to go with it all, and she knew every advantage she had. Every step was filled with confidence, every smile was infused with mischief.

"Thank you. I actually haven't heard of that one before…"

 **"YOU!"** Jaune was rudely interrupted by the heiress before he could finish his sentence.

Ruby jumped three feet backwards from the sudden outburst. She wanted to make up with the white themed teen, but she was scared of Weiss especially after the last encounter.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" The Schnee continued to berate the younger girl.

"Oh, my God, you really exploded..." Yang thought her sister had been joking when she said that she accidentally blew up another person. Although she couldn't say that she was truly surprised by the fact that her sister sneezed into a vial of dust and lit herself on fire.

"It was an accident!" Ruby exploded as she threw her arms up in the air only to be stopped by Weiss holding up a pamphlet. "Uh… What is this?"

Weiss snorted, "This is 'DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals', The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field." The heiress had held her head higher with every word and tried to look superior to the shorter girl in every way possible. In Jaune's opinion, she just came off as snobby and self-entitled.

"Uh…" Ruby was confused. She did not catch half of the words that just flew out of the pale girl's mouth.

"You really wanna start making things up to me?" Weiss internally face palmed at the airhead.

"Absolutely?"

 _That is good enough._ Weiss was getting impatient. "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again."

At this point Yang decided to step in. She did not like how the new girl treated her sister. "Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

Ruby chirped up, "Yeah! Great idea, sis!" She turned to Weiss and cleared her throat, "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"

The heiress just rolled her eyes, "Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!"

Jaune laughed and elbowed Yang, "I actually have heard of that one before." Then he decided to mess with the white haired girl. As the unofficial prince of an unofficial country under the 'protection' of the Atlas military, Jaune had more than a few run-ins with Schnees. One individual actually came specifically into his mind. She was an Atlesian specialist, looked quite similar to the Heiress before him, only much taller and more mature. He also knew that the Schnees were obsessed with their image. "Although it was from a much better endowed individual." Jaune purposefully spoke loud enough so that the two shorter girls could hear him.

Yang burst into laughter as the heiress turned thirteen shades redder and had scowled at the two blondes. "Excuse me? How dare you!?"

Jaune kept his smirked, "Well, your description of me wasn't flattering either, was it?"

"Well…" That shut the heiress up. Jaune felt sorry for her. He did not want to hurt her feelings, but she was getting agitating.

The boy's face softened, "Don't worry, you'll be like her one day. After all, she is your sister."

"Wha…" For the second time in ten seconds, Weiss was speechless. "You know my sister?"

"Oh yeah, we know her alright." Jace spoke up from behind Jaune. He had finished cleaning the De Guerre and put it under his sleeping bag.

"Jace…I understand that you don't have the best relationship with Winter, but this is not the place to talk about it." Jaune cautioned his brother. Jace just waved him off while walking towards the girls. As he walked his eyes narrowed. He strode past the group and walked towards another girl in the corner. It was the monochrome girl from before.

She was wearing a black and grey yukata that fit snuggly on her. Her white, unblemished legs shined in the lamp light that she was bathed in.

"Ninjas of love?" The girl just looked up at the boy, her amber eyes piercing the black-haired boy. She momentarily shifted her focus to the group behind the boy, then back to him. "I personally prefer 'Will of the Aurora'." Jace continued to talk. The two books were very different stories, one told of a tragic tale of star-crossed lovers whom everyone thought were enemies; while the other one told of a pair of kindred souls who understood each other despite not having the ability to communicate.

"Life isn't always a fairytale." Her response was curt and succinct. Jace became more interested.

"Why can't it be?" He was in no way an idealist but couldn't help but test the girl.

"Because there is always people who wish to destroy everything we know." The girl peered into Jace's eyes. The boy just smiled at the answer.

"Yes, but there will always be people to protect those we care for." His companion narrowed her eyes as Jace knelt so that their faces were level with each other. "Hi, I am Jace."

"Blake."

"Well Blake, I suggest you read your book more carefully."

Jace then pushed his face close to Blake's ears and whispered, "Because not everyone will judge you by who you were." Satisfied with the clear blush and shock on Blake's face, Jace smirked as he walked back towards his brother and the others.

"Ooh, lady killer there got some skills!" Yang had clearly missed the point of the conversation between the two black theme teens. She thought Jace was flirting with the girl.

"Back on topic, how do you know my sister?" Weiss did not care for anything else but the blonde boy in front of her at that moment. How did she not know of the brothers if her sister clearly knows them?

"Our parents work in the Valean government and we met your sister during a diplomatic meeting between Vale and Atlas" Technically, it was not a lie, but Jaune decided to skip a couple of details in between. Winter had actually been a military liaison in Arcadia, but because of the unique and special status of the region, her mission was reported as a diplomatic meeting to an important dust mining town in Valean territory.

"Oh."

"I think we should go to sleep, Rubes" Yang yawned and looked at her scroll. _11:00_. "It's getting late and we still have a big day tomorrow."

"Awww…" Ruby wanted to protest but couldn't hold back a yawn either.

"I guess we should go to sleep too." Jaune motioned at Jace, who went to pack up the rest of his stuff.

"Well good night." Weiss walked off to where ever she was sleeping at.

None of them noticed a pair of emerald eyes that stared from the other side of the auditorium.

* * *

 **AN: Now that school is over, I will have a lot more time to write stories. I would like to search for a beta reader, but I don't know how this website's beta system works, so I will probably rely on a manual beta system where I send the unfinished works via email or Dropbox. I would immensely appreciate any help either in the form of beta readers or instructions on how to use 's beta system.**

 **Thanks for everyone's continued support,**

 **Another one of those please.**


	5. Night Visitor

Jace was half asleep. He had expected a visitor that night after the little stunt he pulled. He had his hands on a small knife sheathed in his blanket. Oh boy, this was going to be a long night, especially since the initiation is tomorrow morning.

He did not know how long had passed when a pair of amber eyes appeared right above him. Jace internally flinched slightly, but almost instantly regained his composure. He was more used to being the hunter, not the prey. Then he smiled, because the kitty did exactly what he had predicted.

"You can't sneak up to a person who knows what you are doing, you know." Jace whispered loud enough for Blake to hear him.

"How do you know who I am?" The hostility was palpable in her voice as Jace felt cold steel pressed into his neck. He then felt the cat climb on to him, pinning down his arms and legs.

Jace did not even try to struggle. "Why don't you answer my question first: Why are you here?" His dark grey eyes stared up wards into his captor's amber ones. Blake could only see mirth and defiance in her target's eyes despite the precarious situation he is currently in.

She snarled at the boy underneath him, "You forget that I can slit your throat right now."

"But you won't." Jace's smirk turned into a full on grin, "Because you don't want to lose your only chance at redemption."

"Who are you?" Blake pressed her weapon harder against Jace's neck.

"Just your typical hunter-in-training." Beneath the blanket, Jace maneuvered his knife right below Blake's pelvis without the ninja noticing. Despite being in a vulnerable position, Jace knew that he could do some serious damage if his 'captor' decided to do anything rash.

"Don't mess with me. How do you know I am a Faunus?" The monochrome assassin continued her line of questioning.

Jace reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a trinket. It was a gold disk with crescent moon made of obsidian in the middle. "Ms. Belladonna, you should keep your friends close to you, but your enemies closer. Well, former enemy now."

Blake's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the medallion that shined brightly in the moon light. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?"

Jace did the same thing as a couple of hours ago. He lifted his head, pushing back against Blake's blade as he whispered into the Cat's ear, "Its mine."

Fear. One of the few moments that Blake Belladonna truly felt fear. The terrible, irrational feeling of being afraid. She thought she had conquered fear, thought that she had come to peace with everything that she did. But here underneath her laid the 'Angel of Retribution', the Crescent Shadow himself, and she was afraid of him. The Shadow was a mystery, very much like herself, but this mystery was also a legend.

Rumors say that he annihilated entire criminal organizations and the White Fang garrisons; They also told of incidents where entire Atlas regiments and SDC mining camps disappeared because of him. The result of his attacks would always be the same: those who were known to have done wrong were tortured and maimed, often dying in the most horrific ways possible, and the innocent would be stewarded towards the nearest settlements. Many hailed him as a hero as he exposed horrors such as the SDC Faunus work camps, corruption within the Valean council, and the White Fang "Breeding camps". The Atlas and Valean populations actually protested when Ironwood put a bounty on the Shadow's head.

All could see the results of his actions, but none knew his motives; some speculate that he was an orphan of war, others say that he was a tortured Faunus who wanted revenge; either way, no one knew exactly who he was. Those who survived reported only shadows, smoke and explosions; those who were rescued saw only a dark figure who whispered from a distance; and the only memento found were medallions made of pure gold with obsidian crescents in the middle.

Here she was, staring into one. It was a beautiful piece of artwork. Unlike the ones that she has seen, this one had words embossed into it. _Mobilis In Mobili_ , this phrase formed an arc right above the obsidian moon along with a small _A_ in the middle of the entire disk.

She herself had 'met' with the Shadow several times. Every time, He would always stay hidden, his voice would emanate from every wall, every tree, every shadow. She learned that he too was scarred and imperfect; But he also learned about her. Her and Adam.

"You don't have to fear me. You are not my target." Blake calmed slightly. "Now could you please remove your blade?"

She did not trust the boy, but she couldn't really do anything to him without having to run away again. The assassin reluctantly removed Gambol Shroud from Jace's neck and lessened the pressure on his limbs. "What does it mean?" She asked as she pointed at the trinket.

The boy smiled, "Changing in the changes." Without any warning, Jace wrapped his legs around Blake's and flipped her over while casting the blanket and Gambol Shroud aside. "But first, you are going to answer a couple of my questions." Blake tried to scream for help, but his hand covered her mouth as his face turned serious, "Now, now. I wouldn't make a lot of noise if I was you. It may seem like I am in the wrong here, but I am not the White Fang operative in this equation. Understood?" Blake nodded. Jace uncovered her mouth and proceeded to moved her arms upward so that he can pin both down with one hand. Jace took care to keep every one of her limbs restrained so that Blake could not use her semblance.

"First why are you here?" Jace's voice was hoarse and rough. Blake was so terrified at the sudden change in Jace's personality that she froze. No matter how she much she tried, she couldn't muster a response. Seeing this, Jace decided to add in some ' _incentive'_.

"Come on. I'm waiting." Jace slowly slid his hand down the center of Blake's yukata, opening up her sleep wear and exposing more of her pale skin. _Damn, she has a nice body_ , Jace smile, partially at the sight in front of him and partially at what Goodwitch and Ozpin's reaction would be if he was caught like this. "Ooh, no bra?"

Blake was almost shivering in fear underneath him as she fought to get free. Jace grinned even wider at her struggle. "I... left the…Fang"

"See, was that so hard?" Jace did not removed his hand from inside Blake's yukata, "Now one more question, why exactly would a career White Fang fanatic quit? If I recall correctly, you were in the White Fang since you were _very_ young."

Blake actually hesitated to answer this question. Even though she left, she still had some loyalty left towards Adam Taurus if not the entire organization. She did not want to put Adam into unnecessary danger. Before she could decide however, Jace removed his hand from her chest and moved down in between her thighs. She involuntarily moaned as he shifted his hand upwards. The ninja on the verge of tears as Jace moved closer to her. "They… wanted to… kill… innocents…"

"So Adam finally broke." Jace removed his hand from Blake and let her free. He took the blanket that was cast aside and wrapped the shivering Faunus in it. The boy's demeanor completely changed as the truth was revealed. There was more than a hint of regret within his voice. "Sorry I had to resort to such measures, but I had to make sure you weren't sent by them."

The cat did not respond, just shook slightly. "If it makes you feel better, I didn't plan to do anything to you."

"But you killed and tortured _them_." Blake barely held her tears back as she whispered lightly.

Jace didn't love the pronoun game but he could dance with the best of them at it. "I only made it painful for those who were murderers themselves, and that is only if they refused to comply." He put an arm around the kitten as he slowly rocked her back and forth, calming Blake down.

"But that doesn't give you a right to… to…" Jace interrupted her by putting a finger to her lips.

"No, it doesn't. But there are those of us that must do what is necessary." The black haired boy turned to look towards the ceiling as a single tear fell from his eyes. The moon light had penetrated one of the windows and the Chandeliers refracted the light, creating an illusion as if the two were really under the stars. "Yes, I will burn in hell. But if it means that they will burn with me, it is all worth it."

Jace continued to lightly rock Blake back and forth, "You too have to realize one day that you will have to let Adam go."

Blake burst in to silent sobs as Jace mentioned Adam. She had loved that man. He was everything she wanted to be. Brave, kind, and idealistic. But after years of unfruitful struggling against the Humans, the bull had grown uncaring, and cynical. Blake cried not because Adam had to die, she cried because she just realized that she had lost him, forever.

"Shh, rest, you'll need it tomorrow." Jace pulled Blake's head into his chest as he hugged the Faunus tightly.

As the Shadow Crescent looked out the window, he was greeted by a pair of brown eyes from the tower above.

 **AN: Just finished that chapter. Finally we are at the initiation. Still looking for beta readers if anyone is interested. I want to thank Irax for reminding me not to make the OC a Mary Sue.**


	6. Memories Lost

"Mr. Arc."

Both of the boys turned around. They had just woken up and were packing their sleeping bags up when Glynda Goodwitch walked towards them with two scrolls in hand. She grunted as she had to maneuver through the maze of sleeping bags and bodies that littered the ball room floor. At the corner was Blake, whose eyes were still red from the previous night. Jace had moved Blake back to her corner after she fell asleep last night.

"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch?" Jaune was the one to reply back while Jace just looked at her. Even after knowing him for seven years, Glynda still had chills run down her back whenever she looked into the black haired boy's eyes. A child should not have that coldness in his eyes.

"Here are your new scrolls. Your old ones run on the closed network used in Arcadia and won't be able to connect to Beacon's systems." The teacher handed them their scrolls, and was about to bid them farewell when Jaune spoke up.

"What should we do with the old scrolls, Ma'am?" Technologies that run on a closed network had their advantages, for example, they can't be hacked from the outside. Jaune knew they needed to keep the old scrolls but wanted to make sure Ozpin did not have any plans for them.

"You may keep your old scrolls in case you want to contact home." The hint was obvious now. In the case of an attack on Beacon or Vale, the boys would contact Arcadia and bring 'help'. "In any case, that was all I came here for. Good luck on your initiations."

"Thank you." The boys turned on their new devices and each was prompted with a surprise. Jaune looked at his locker number and scratched his head. _636? I remember putting my gear in 229. Did Ozpin do this?_

Jace on the other hand was prompted with a text message. ' _Clockwork south, clockwork east, Knight's move.'_ The teen scowled at references. He hated chess, it was unrealistic and dumb to him. But then again, that is why he is not making the plans.

"Well Ozpin called me up already."

Jaune was not surprised. There was a lot of things that his brother could do to help with the situation and as a fellow tactician, Jaune had expected Ozpin to move as soon as possible. "Yeah, I need to find my gear, they changed my locker number somehow."

"See you at breakfast then?"

"Yeah"

* * *

Ozpin was sipping his coffee as he looked across the school yard. It was early in the morning and few students were outside in the courtyard. The sun was rising slightly above the tree line and the dew from the vegetation reflected the sun light across the campus. He was reminded of a similar morning in the wilderness of Mistral centuries ago. "We still can have everything, Sarah…"

The sound of the elevator door opening quickly snapped Ozpin out of his memories. He turned around and was greeted by a certain annoyed teen.

"You know I do not like to be a part of you little chess game."

"You are not." Ozpin smirked. The headmaster expected that reaction. "And I am counting on that."

Jace smiled at that, "Cheating are we? Now that is more like it. Now why did you call me here?"

Ozpin walked towards his chair and placed down his coffee. As he reached his desk, the headmaster opened a drawer and pulled out a letter, "Read this."

Jace tentatively took the sheet of paper.

 _Head Councilor Winchester,_

 _By now you must of have heard of the rumors about the Special Region: Arcadia's intentions of independence. The Arcadian Royal Family has recently informed me of their decision. I am afraid that Vale could no longer hold such a territory any more. As such, I suggest we recoup any significant losses by bringing Arcadia closer in our indirect sphere of influence._

 _First it would be in our interest to terminate our policy of denying them sovereignty; We should act first and grant them the right self-rule, before they can declare secession. Next we should connect them to our network of communications, thus we can be informed on the new kingdom. Finally, I would like to formally invite Arcadia to the Vytal Festival, showing full unity of all of Remnant._

 _I understand that this is a difficult decision for Vale, but I sincerely believe that this is a time for allies not enemies. The Grimm will not stop for our own petty disagreements._

 _Headmaster of Beacon Academy,_

 _Ozpin_

Jace was surprised at the tone of the message. He had thought that Ozpin would be more arrogant in his address to the Council, especially to that bastard of a Councilor. "Hmm, saving face by giving Arcadia independence before we could declare it. Smart. Putting Arcadia on the grid via CCT system, while, I am guessing, not dismantling our own private network; prep work against this 'Queen'. Lastly, invitation of the new power to the biggest celebration of peace in world, free security. Why aren't you telling Jaune about this?"

"You can inform him of anything significant later. Right now, he is doing something rather important." Jace sometimes feel annoyed by how Ozpin is manipulating all of them. He knows that there could be worse people to be in control, but he is still irked.

Jace paused slightly to ponder the information that he was just given. "Who are we playing against?" It was unusual for the wizard to pull out all stops for a simple 'chess match'.

Ozpin slightly grimaced into his coffee, "A very old friend."

"And how would this 'old friend' fit into your little fairytales?" Jace continued his line of questioning. He was always a little obsessive over the intel. Hey, better too much information than to be caught off guard, right?

"She was one of the maidens." Jace's eyes widened in shock but Ozpin ignored it. Before Jace could inquire for further information, Ozpin asked, "Are you still chasing after **her**?"

"What does she have to do with anything?" Jace scowled protectively at the subject. Again with the pronoun game, but this time Jace was half scared at what Ozpin wanted to say.

"This 'old friend' was the one that took her."

* * *

 _636\. Where is it?_ After Jace left, Jaune had wondered around, counting down the numbers on the lockers, trying to find where his gear went.

"…Let my sweetheart do the talking" As Jaune turned the corner, he walked right into Ruby and Yang.

"Hey girls." The two girls turned around to look at him,

"Hey Jaune." Ruby waved at the boy.

"What you need, blondie?" Yang smiled as she put her hands on her hips.

"Would you guys know where locker 636 is?" The blonde boy sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"uh, this is 438…so it should be further down there." Yang pointed down the hall, "Already forgot where your locker is?"

"It would seem so. Anyways, thanks, Sunshine. See you later Ruby." Jaune waved a goodbye as he continued walking down the corridor.

 _Sunshine, huh? Not bad._ Yang smiled slightly at the other blonde as his body disappeared behind the next bend.

* * *

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" Jaune heard a familiar voice coming from the lockers in front of him. _Please don't let it be who I think it is… Please don't let it be who I think it is…_ Unlike the previous night, Jaune did not have the patience for dealing with the heiress this morning.

All of his hopes were crushed as he walked into the row of lockers. "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Standing next to the heiress was a redhead who wore Spartan armor. To compliment her motif, the stranger also had a large javelin and a bronze phalanx shield. _Do I know her from somewhere?_ Jaune thought that she looked quite familiar but couldn't put his hands on it. Also her name, Pyrrha, where has he heard that name before?

"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." Jaune looked past the two conversing teens and saw his locker right behind them. Crap. Ok, _just walk past them, maybe a little greeting, but STAY OUT!_ Jaune mentally prepared himself and formed a plan to extricate himself from any unnecessary contact with the heiress this morning.

"Well, that sounds grand!" The Spartan was obviously faking her excitement but Weiss apparently did not notice it. "Great!" Dark thunder clouds began to form as the heiress planned her domination over the entirety of the Beacon freshmen.

"Hi."

Pyrrha snapped around as she had not heard anyone else approach. She was surprised to see a blonde boy right next to them. "Hello."

"Talking about teams already?" Jaune smiled in as a non-committal way as possible. _Can you even do that?_

"Yeah." Pyrrha nodded her head as she returned the smile. _Do I know this boy? Hum… From one of dad's diplomatic trips maybe?_ "Do you have any plans?"

 _Damn it. That is a deathtrap if I ever saw one._ "Not really, have a couple of friends that would work really well but I don't think Ozpin will let us have a peaceful school life." Jaune did make plans to partner with Jace; but since Ozpin said that Jace would be assigned to a special rank, alone, Jaune would have to find new partner. _Ruby and Yang are both good choices, not that I know anyone else. It's just that Ruby may be a bit inexperienced, and Yang… I don't think I can keep up on the long run. Also I think they may want to be partners._

"Well, I am pretty sure there are four people in a team. Would you like to join us?" Pyrrha was secretly astonished that the boy did not ask her to be a part of his team. _Does he not know who I am?_

 _NONONONONONO! You did not just ask me that in front of HER!_ Jaune internally face-palmed as the heiress snapped out of her daydream in an instant.

"WHAT! Pyrrha, do you think that he is good enough to be in OUR team?" Jaune instantly regretted even walking near the two girls; now he has to deal with the uptight, bigoted, arrogant Schnee's Bul…

Before Jaune could even hit back, the Schnee turned around and pushed her fingers into his chest. "And YOU, what makes you think you are good enough to be in Pyrrha NIKOS' team?"

 _Nikos? Wait, you mean she is the daughter of that Mistrali Diplomat? Crap, she might recognize me. Gotta act as if I don't know her._ "Who?"

"Wait… You mean, you don't know who she is?" Weiss was astonished

"No… Should I?" Jaune had an educated guess, but technically he did not know who she is.

"You don't know _Pyrrha Nikos_?" Weiss shouted at the blonde, waving her arms furiously in front of his face. "She graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"

"Uhh… where is that?" The boy truthfully did not know this one. He was never really allowed outside his Kingdom, even coming to Beacon was without his father's permission.

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" Weiss was getting more frustrated with each passing second.

"Well, congratulations, Pyrrha. But, I'm sorry, my family don't watch TV." _Wow, didn't realize that she is also very skilled._ Jaune reached his locker and started to take out his armor plates and sword.

"Thanks. It is only a local competition anyways." Pyrrha smiled at the blonde boy. She liked him. Unlike most others, he did not try to impress her or befriend he because of her status. She stared at the boy as he strapped on pieces of his _Just where have I seen him before?_

"So do you still think that you are good enough to be on **our** team?" Weiss folded her arms and looked expectantly at Jaune.

The blonde just laughed, "I'm sorry, I never accepted her offer." He then turned to the redhead, "Thanks Pyrrha, but I must decline…"

The Spartan looked obviously disappointed, while the heiress appeared triumphant and smug. Jaune wanted to have some fun.

"…Although, if you want, you could join my team."

"Wha… DID YOU NOT HEAR ANYTHING I JUST SAID?" Weiss screamed at the male. Pyrrha had a wide grin as Jaune opened his shield/sheath to check the shifting mechanism. There on the shield were two golden crescents.

 _Wait, that emblem. It can't be!_

Pyrrha did not realize that a pair of blue eyes observing at her shock.

 **AN: And that is a wrap on that chapter. I am constantly revising the plot as I go so it will be slower in upload times. Also cus I am working 8 hrs days so that goes the majority of my days. Summer break is not so easy anymore. If you have anything you think should be a part of the plot, feel free to PM me.**


	7. Ok, Then

A wise man once said, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." Well, God certainly made Pyrrha a believer today, whatever he is.

The champion's shock was palpable in the locker room, _Jaune!?_ The only thing that prevented her from screaming the prince's name out was the fact that Weiss was still standing next to them.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ANYTHING I JUST SAID?" The heiress screamed at Jaune, but the boy's attention was focused on the Spartan. _Crap, she knows! How did she realize it?_

As the blond looked down at his opened shield and registered his mistake. _Idiot! How could I be that dumb!?_

Jaune quickly shifted his shield back into sheath form as he stood up. "Learn to take a joke, will ya?" Jaune debated whether or not to find Pyrrha and talk to her about his identity. One look at his watch dismissed the idea. _10 min. until start of initiation._

"Well, I gotta go. Nice to meet you Weiss, Pyrrha."

"Hmpf"

"You too…"

"Where are my manners, hi, I am Jaune."

"Well, nice to meet you too, Jaune" _Again._

* * *

"This 'old friend' was the one that took her."

"What do you mean?" Jace was confused beyond confused. To him, the headmaster did not make any sense.

"What you encountered was an incomplete part of her. The fragment has been since reabsorbed into the whole, that is this 'old friend'" Ozpin continued to sip his coffee with a grimace. It was both refreshing and scary for the boy that the Headmaster of Beacon is taking something seriously for once. "she needs one more fragment to come back destroy everyone."

"So you are saying a fraction of her true power, your 'friend's' power is capable of completely erasing a SDC redoubt off of the face of Remnant within the minute?" Jace could not physically believe what Ozpin is saying even as he was one of the few witnesses of the devastation that the being wrought upon the fortress.

"One third to be exact." Ozpin put down his coffee and put his scroll onto his table, a hologram of a brunette girl wearing a cloak appeared. "and this is the last piece."

"Is she dangerous?" Jace turned his attention from the projector to the middle aged man in front of him.

"Mr. Arc, this is our VIP. The Fall Maiden. Part of her power has already been absorbed by the Queen, but she need all of it before she can free our… 'friend'."

Jace was even more confused now, "What am I doing then? You know I suck at babysitting."

"We have that covered, but Qrow is still in the field so we lack manpower. We have intel stating that the Queen is already in the city, and that is where you come in." Ozpin shifted the hologram to show a map of Vale. There were red dots all over the place. "We theorize that these dust robberies have something to do with our target."

"I don't know about petty theft, but I already have some information about the Queen you will find valuable." Jace is still a mercenary at heart, he is not willing to work for free yet.

"Name your price" Ozpin had worked enough times with the young assassin to know that what he wanted.

"I am not interested in money this time." Jace moved closer to Ozpin's desk and put his own scroll onto the table. A projection of a pair of gauntlets popped up. "Mobile Aura Projectors, Atlas Prototype #16. I want a pair with my emblem imbued into them."

"I can arrange that." Usually it would be impossible for a secret prototype to even leave an Atlas Compound, but Ozpin has enough strings in the Atlesian military to pull.

"Ok, here is what I got so far from my contacts. We can't record any of this or some very unsavory people might get their hands on it." Jace removed both scrolls from the mainframe and turn them off. He then tossed Ozpin's scroll back to him. "First, Adam Taurus is now leading the Fang."

The headmaster only nodded, waiting for further explanation.

"Information on his bio is sparse, only that he _had_ a partner." Jace proceeded to move behind the table and typed something in. All of a sudden, the face of Blake Belladonna appeared in the screen in front of the two. "Now she apparently defected…"

"I was hoping that you would refrain from interrogating students of this prestigious academy." Ozpin nonchalantly interrupted Jace's presentation.

"First, I was trying to protect everyone. Second, she wasn't a student, yet." Jace was annoyed but could not do anything. "Continuing on, her last blip on the radar was during a SDC train robbery, which puts her defection right after the Queen made contact with the White Fang. There are rumors saying that the Queen is our kitty's replacement."

Ozpin paused for a moment to absorb the information. Queen working with the White Fang would prove problematic, considering they have amassed enough dust to supply the army of Faunus fanatics. "Very well, we will have Qrow looking into it. If you would please look into the Queen's activities in Vale, that would be much appreciated."

Jace seriously did not want to do this job, but he knew that in the end he will have to. So, why not make some money while doing it? "800 liens an hour on job, non-negotiable."

"Very well." Ozpin agreed without any objections.

"Well then, if that is all, I will be leaving." The black haired teen turned to leave, but the Headmaster had one more question.

"One last thing Mr. Arc." Ozpin turned to face the window again, "Do you believe in destiny?"

"We make own destinies. Only fools believe everything is set in stone." Jace continued to walk towards the elevator door.

Several seconds later, a ping sound signaled that the headmaster was once again alone in his office. "You were just like him, Sarah, just like him." Ozpin knew that the person he was talking to could no longer hear him. She couldn't for a long time now.

But he knew somewhere, those now crimson eyes were watching him, waiting.

 **AN: Ok, I have the basic plot now set. Sorry for the short chapter, I didn't want to start on the initiation in the middle of a chapter so it will that will be the next one. And for those who didn't understand the last part, seriously, you need to re-watch RWBY. Other than that, well I guess you can almost guess the story by now. LOL, sorry about that, this is my first Fanfic.**


	8. Initiations Pt 1

**AN: I have gotten a lot of questions about why did Jaune not recognize Pyrrha at first in the locker room. Let me clarify this once and for all; To Jaune, it was just "Hey, nice girl that I danced with who then ran away". To Pyrrha, it is "Hey, nice boy that proposed to me". Those are two very different experiences and point of views, so Pyrrha is much more likely to remember who Jaune was.**

* * *

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin calmly sipped his coffee as he stood in front of the newest batch of inductees of Beacon Academy. Glynda was typing on her pad next to the headmaster. Facing the two teachers stood forty-nine students. Each had a unique style and weapon along with a myriad of thematic colors. But even as he gave the annual speech on what they will have to do, the headmaster's mind was not focused on the students facing him.

"I thought dad prohibited any of us from using the De Guerre." Jaune whispered to his brother as he eyed the claymore strapped to Jace's back.

"He did." The black haired teen was busy scarfing down a protein bar he raided from the cafeteria minutes before the call to initiation.

"So how did you…"

"Same way you took Crocea Mors. Out the front door." Jace smirked at his brother. It wasn't the first time they disobeyed their father's direct orders. Usually Jace would be the one blamed for it while Jaune would just get a slap on the wrist. The younger sibling had gotten used to it and would just ignore their parents.

"Students! Please be respectful and listen to your headmaster, he has valuable information that might just save your life!" Glynda needed everyone to listen to Ozpin as the headmaster is going to inform them on their partners.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today. These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

A few of the students were obviously excited to hear how they will be paired up.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." The shock on the faces of the students was palpable as the headmaster relayed the news to them. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you **will** die."

Jaune looked around to see how his fellow students were fairing. Weiss looked determinedly at Pyrrha, but the champion ignored her, opting to smile at the blonde prince instead; Ruby and Yang glanced at each other while Jace just stood up straight, staring across the tree tops. At least Jace doesn't have to worry about finding a partner, he only has to find the relic and make his way back to the cliff.

"Ready?" Goodwitch rhetorically asked. "Go!"

One by one, the students were launched in the air. Jaune readied himself as Yang, who was right next to him, was thrown off of the launch pad. As he was propelled through the air, he unsheathed his sword and used his shield as a rudder. Everyone had their own landing strategy as they prepared to meet the ground again. Yang used her shotgun gauntlet to propel herself across the tree tops. Ruby fired repeatedly and then opened her scythe and swung around a tree to slow her descent. And Pyrrha crashed through the forest before landing on a branch before scouting around her, using her Miló in rifle form to look for her unknowing fiancé.

Meanwhile, Jaune himself had yet to think of a landing strategy. He was stuck between crashing through or bouncing off of trees. He was just about to touch the treetops when he heard a sudden whistling sound. The prince managed to turn to face the direction that the sound is coming from. To his surprise, there was a bronze javelin en route to puncture some part of his body. He quickly maneuvered his shield to block it, but instead of making contact with the enlarged sheath, the spear caught on to the hood of his jacket and dragged him down into the forest.

"Oof!" Jaune had the wind knocked out of him as he slammed in to a tree.

"SORRY…." A distant call was heard as Jaune attempted to extricate himself from the tree.

 _What did I do to that girl!? First running away without a reason, and now hurling a spear at me!_ Jaune was extremely confused at what is going on. "I'M FINE!"

Reaching up the blonde boy grabbed the javelin that held his hoodie in place as he tried to remove it from the tree. **RIIIIPPP.** _Oh Crap._ The blade of the spear started to tear through his hoodie. Jaune desperately tried to extract the spear, but it only made the situation worse.

 **RIIIIIIPPPP.** The javelin finally cut through the hoodie. Ironically, because Jaune now had to hold on to the spear by the end, the force of his weight was able to free it from the tree and the boy fell flat on to his butt as he landed twenty feet below. _Oh Great, what now?_ Jaune reached for the hood of his jacket, finding that it had been cleanly sliced in half. Deciding that it was useless now, the prince used the spear in his hand to cut off the remaining bits of the hoodie.

As he was doing so, a note fell from a hole in the back end of the spear.

"Huh?" Jaune picked it up and read it. "Stay where you are…Fine… At least she is better than some of the others" A certain heiress popped into his mind.

* * *

Ozpin had delayed Jace's launch by about three minutes so that he would not be paired up with any of the other students.

"Mr. Arc, have you told your brother about the situation yet?" Ozpin was looking at the live feed of the other students when he asked the question.

"Nope, haven't got a chance yet." The prince was still checking his gear, "Hey, Ozzie, when do you think can you get my gauntlets?"

"My contacts are still negotiating with the Atlesian military. Most likely you must submit all field test data to them in exchange." Ozpin did not look up from the screen while Glynda looked questionably at both men.

"What are you talking about?" Goodwitch could not make any sense of the conversation. "Why would there be a need of negotiations?"

"In exchange for his information regarding the White Fang and the Queen, Mr. Arc requested an Atlesian prototype."

"Isn't the opportunity of attending this prestigious and saving the rest of mankind enough of payment?"

The boy laughed, "You haven't told her yet?" The female teacher looked even more confused.

"No." Ozpin shook his head. "I didn't think it would be necessary. Although I should of have foreseen this. Mr. Arc, would you please?" Jace nodded and took out his medallion from under his suit. Glynda widened his eyes in shock.

"Ms. Goodwitch, being able to attend this academy is a privilege, but not one I need, or want. Headmaster Ozpin invited me here in order to work out details of our agreement in order to stop the Queen; and as remuneration, he will acquire a piece of military hardware for me. Just so we are clear, I am NOT a hunter, now or ever."

"It's about time." Ozpin looked at the time on his tablet and readied the launch plate. "We will discuss this later."

Soon, the black haired prince was launched across the forest tops.

* * *

 _Where is she?_ Jaune did not want to stay still for long in a Grimm infested forest. Suddenly, a shadow erupted from the bush in front of the blonde boy.

In his surprise, Jaune drew his sword and got ready to strike at the target. He was just about to attack when he realized that the person standing in front of him was none other than the Spartan that he was waiting for. Both were stunned for a moment as they processed what just occurred.

"You scared me there." Jaune relaxed first and held out her weapon to give back to her. The girl flinched a little at the gesture before she too realized their mistakes.

Pyrrha blushed again as she took the spear and re-holstered it. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Jaune stuffed his torn hoodie into his pocket, an action that did not go unnoticed by his companion.

"Guess we are partners now, huh." Pyrrha awkwardly tried to change the subject.

Jaune smiled. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Pyrrha, or should I say long time no see?"

Pyrrha stumbled a little. She was once again reminded of his proposition three years ago. "So you remember."

"Yes, although I am sorry if I offended you the last time we met."

Pyrrha looked confused for a moment. Then, she realized that she never returned to the garden after running away. The Spartan cringed in embarrassment at the memory. "Um… No, that was my fault, I shouldn't have been so rude."

Seeing no point in arguing, Jaune just chuckled, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For that night."

Jace flew through the forest just inches above the tree line. Ozpin had changed his trajectory so that he would launched at a greater speed in order to compensate for time lost waiting on the cliff. Underneath, he could see the other students forming up into small groups. Blake and Yang got paired up, so did Weiss and Ruby.

Soon, gravity regained control and Jace started to fall back to earth. He skipped from one branch to the other, slowing his descent as he came closer to the ground.

As he landed, teen brushed off small leaves and twigs that got stuck in in his trench coat. Seeing that everything was intact, he continued to walk towards the direction of the ruins.

A couple of minutes into the hike, growls started to emanate all around Jace. The sounds seem to come from every direction as scarlet dots flickered from the bushes. The prince changed to a sprint, trying to out run the beasts that were on his tail. Every couple of trees he would dash to either side, but he couldn't turn in a different direction with the grimm right behind him.

Soon the trees thinned out and Jace stopped running for a moment. This had been the break that he wanted. There was no clear line of sight in the forest, but in the clearing, he could see every single grimm that he is engaging.

Jace ran into the clearing and waited. And waited. The grimm did not appear immediately, but their howls and cries could be heard clearly. After a couple of minutes, a huge wolf like creature appeared from the bushes at the edge of the dell of the forest. There were white bone fragments all over its onyx face and back, acting as armor for the beast, while spikes protrude from its spine. The large beast was supplanted by smaller ones with less armor plating.

"Beowolves, huh?" Jace smirked at the invisible cameras that he knew were around the forest. "Not bad Ozzie. I will have fun today"

The grimm promptly paused to inspect their prey. After realizing that 'it' was alone, they started to snarl at the boy. One exceptionally brave beowolf charged at Jace while the others goaded it on.

Before it could even take a swipe, however, Jace drew his claymore and in one swift motion, slashed diagonally downwards, bisecting the beast in half. As the corpse of the grimm started to disintegrate, some of the smaller beowolves started to back off, only to receive a roar from their leader.

The giant grimm charged straight at the black haired teen. Jace stood his ground as he parried his blade against the alpha's claws. Sparks flew from the contact between metal and bone as the two combatants assaulted each other with their respective weapons.

After several exchanges, Jace grew bored, "So you are just like the rest of them, a one-trick-pony, huh?"

He pushed back harder against the next swing, forcing the subsequent swipe from the other claw to have more momentum than the beast expected. Then, instead of parrying, Jace back flipped to dodge the attack. This caused the beowolf to lose his balance and another clean cleave from the claymore cut the grimm down.

All of the beowolves were stunned at the fact that their leader had been taken down in the matter of seconds. Some of the more experienced ones immediately ran away while others took a little more time to realize their position.

"Oh, we are playing hide and seek now, are we?" Jace chased after the fleeing grimm into the forest, "You are not getting away from me today."

Over the next half hour, the second prince of Arcadia hunted each and every beowolf down, along with any other grimm he could find, before a loud roar interrupted his killing spree.

Seconds earlier, a boy and a girl missed the eight crimson eyes that stared at them intently from the darkness.


	9. Next in Line

ROARRRR….

Jace was finishing off a boarbatusk when a loud cry interrupted his hunt. He scanned the forest around him, the roar came from somewhere close. Quickly realizing that some of his 'classmates' might be in trouble, Jace jumped up onto a tree branch and dashed towards the source of the sound.

 _Meanwhile_

Jaune and Pyrrha raced through the forest. They had unwittingly stumbled on to a deathstalker den and awakened the ancient beast. They are currently running through the forest in an attempt to outpace their pursuer. However, further they moved through the woods, the denser the shrubs and briers became.

"What do we do now?" Pyrrha was a couple of paces in front of the blonde prince. The two companions were running out of options fast.

"Don't know, you got anything?" Just as Jaune finished the sentence as a dark shadow flashed over their heads. Next thing he knew, there was his brother, right next to him.

"What did you do this time?"

"Oh, you came just in time. We just stirred a deathstalker nest." Jaune smiled at his younger brother.

"How big?" Jace chuckled.

"Twice as large as the one at Tempered Bay"

"Uhh. Who are you?" Pyrrha felled back alongside the brothers.

"Jace Arc, Jaune's brother. And you?"

"Pyrrha Nikos, nice to meet you." The Spartan smiled at the shorter brother.

"Nice to meet you, too." Jace just nodded his head in return.

"Can you take care of it?" Jaune continued to ask Jace.

The younger prince shook his head. "You owe me." That was all Jace said before disappearing behind the next tree they passed by.

"How does he move so fast?" Pyrrha was amazed at how the black haired boy just vanished into the forest.

Jaune shook his head as slowed down his pace, seeing that his brother is already on the job. "He practically lived in the forest for a couple of years. Nobody knew what he did when he was there." That was a lie. Jaune knew what his brother had been occupied with the moment he saw Jace's pendant but the prince did not think that he should reveal his younger sibling's secrets.

"He didn't live in Arcadia?" Pyrrha also slowed to a brisk walking pace. She did not remember seeing Jace at the ball four years ago.

"Dad and he sort of had a fight…" Jaune faltered slightly at the memory. It was one of the lesser moments of both of their childhoods.

"Its fine…It's not my place to ask such questions…"

"Thanks." Jaune smiled weakly at his partner. "Let's keep moving."

"Right"

Up on the cliff, stood the two teachers. Both were focused on the live feed coming in in front of them.

"Why have you invited such a dangerous criminal to our prestigious academy, Headmaster?" Goodwitch was furious that Ozpin agreed to such exorbitant price for a mercenary.

"Glynda, this is a small price to pay for what he is capable of." Ozpin pointed back to the screen.

Glynda grimaced, "I have read his dossier already. It is what goes on in that boy's mind that I am fearful of."

The headmaster smiled enigmatically as he turned his attention to the live feed. "Have you heard of an Übermensch, Glynda?"

After about half of an hour of hiking northward, The Prince and the Champion finally reached what seemed like their objective. In front of the two teens stood an old ruin. What was left of the marble pillars formed a semicircle. There were several chess pieces standing on smaller posts in the same pattern as the larger pillars.

"So are these supposed to be the relics?" Pyrrha asked as she picked up a golden rook.

Before her companion could answer, an Ursa crashed through the forest. They readied their weapons at the sudden appearance of the Grimm, but as suddenly as it had arrived, the bear-like Grimm fell flat on its chest and from its back emerged an orange haired girl. "Aww, it broke" Jaune cringed at the painful sight of such a beast in pain. "RENNY! I think we are here!"

Immediately a black haired boy with magenta eyes ran out of the forest, out of breath. "Nora, slow down!"

"Ooh, Renny, look!" the orange ball of energy dashed over to the other gold rook and grabbed it, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Ren just sighed and then collapsed onto the grass.

"Tired already?" Jaune offered a hand.

Ren accepted it graciously. "You have no idea." The prince laughed slightly.

"Hi, I am Jaune. This is Pyrrha" Jaune introduced himself and his partner. The Champion waved at the peculiar duo.

"Ren. And this is…" Before the green themed boy could even finish, the girl next to him exploded forward.

"NORA! Hi I am Nora! I really like sweets, pancakes, Ren… well, that is cus we have been together for a really long time now… not "together" together, but you know… Hey, is anyone else really hungry right now or is it just me?" Nora had completely lost Jaune while Pyrrha only managed a "Hi Nora."

Soon Yang and Blake also arrived at the ruins. They immediately made their way towards the relics.

"Ooh, cute little pony. Blake, can we pick this one?" Yang took the golden knights while her partner only nodded silently in response. "Oh hey, Jaune."

"Hello Yang." Just then, Jaune's scroll started to ring. "Jace? Where are you?"

"Coming in hot." Jace barely sound fazed from the extended period of leading the large deathstalker in circles. "Scroll says less than half of a click south. You got enough room for me?"

The blonde prince scanned the area around him. "Plenty of space in the ruins. You need any help killing it?"

"Nah, I got this one. Just clear the area of any other…." Jaune thought the call has been cut off, but the scroll still says it's connected.

"Jace?"

"Jaune, clear the area right now! Big Nevermore in bound! It is carrying Ruby and the Heiress!" Jace then abruptly ended the call. Jaune quickly turned to look skyward. Sure enough, a gigantic avian Grimm was making its way towards the ruins.

"Everyone move into the trees to the north! Ruby and Weiss are on that bird and Jace is coming in with a deathstalker on his tail!" Jaune pointed to the Grimm and started barking orders at the group of teens that gathered in the relic site.

"Yay, we can all die together!" Yang gave her best, sarcastic voice.

"Not if we stick close to each other."

Everyone started to dash towards the tree line. Before anyone reached the bushes, however, the nevermore arrived on top of the ruins.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Ruby, seeing her sister and the others decided to drop off of the nevermore right then and there, but soon she realized that there was no way to stop. Jaune, also realizing that the little reaper was not going to slow down, reversed direction and started to sprint towards the falling girl.

"Got you."

Jaune barely had time to take a breather before another voice cried out from above. "RUBY!"

"WEISS, YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO JUMP!" Ruby replied.

"I AM NOT JUMPING!" The Heiress clung stubbornly on to the nevermore.

"Just…"

 _CRASH_

The southern end of the clearing exploded as first a boy in a trench coat, then a giant deathstalker bust out of the forest. The students watched in amazement as the teen was able to stay ahead of the giant beast without much trouble.

"What are you still doing in the open?" Jace yelled at his brother across the field.

"Weiss is still on the Nevermore!" Jaune yelled back.

"Distract this thing, I'll get the Heiress!" Jace ordered before he seemingly disappeared into thin air, leaving his pursuant dazed and confused as to where its prey went.

"Get to the others." Jaune instructed Ruby as he unsheathed his sword and opened his shield before charging towards the scorpion-like Grimm.

"Jaune! Wait!" Ruby tried to help but Jaune rebuffed her. "Get to the others!" Deciding that assisting her friend was more important, the red reaper chased after the blonde prince.

"We got to help them!" Yang readied her Ember Celia as she prepared to charge out.

"Agreed." Pyrrha also unsheathed Miló.

Before anyone could move, however, Jace suddenly reappeared in with a struggling Weiss in tow. "Is everyone here?"

"PUT ME DOWN YOU BARBARIAN!" The Heiress fought to get free from the Prince's grasp.

In response, Jace dropped Weiss flat on the ground while the other students looked at him as if they saw a ghost. "I'll explain later, but is everyone here?"

Yang was the first to speak up. "No, Ruby and Jaune are still out there."

"OK, I'll get them, just **STAY** here." Again, the black haired boy disappeared into thin air, only to appear a distance away.

From their vantage point in the bushes, the hunters-in-training witnessed the black hair prince manifest next to both Jaune and Ruby, then grab both to warp back. Within an instant, he returned to the exact same location as before, only now with two passengers.

By now, Jace was panting very hard, "Man that took more out of me than I thought."

"Huh? What happened?" Ruby was extremely confused. She was charging at a giant deathstalker not a moment ago, so how did she get here?

"That was awesome!" Nora was the first one overcome her own shock. "Can you do that again!?"

"Nora!" Ren quickly put his hand on his childhood friend's shoulder. "Don't be rude."

The orange themed girl quickly deflated backwards. "Sorry."

"Ha-ha, its fine." Jace quickly waved it off.

"Ruby! Are you ok, are you hurt?" Yang quickly ran up to fuss over her sister while Ren helped Jace to a spot in the shade to sit down.

"Yang! I am fine!" Ruby pouted at her sister as Yang searched her for any injuries. "We didn't even get close the Deathstalker."

"So what's the plan?" Jace took out a small pouch of walnuts from one of the inside pocket of his trench coat. The prince noticed that a certain Valkyrie was glowing at the sight of food. After taking out a couple of nuts, he tossed the remainder of the bag to said force of nature. "Have the rest."

"Yay!"

"That depends, do you still want to take that thing on?" The blonde boy did not want his brother to take unnecessary risks; but then again, he has been doing exactly that for 5 years now. He felt both worried and annoyed at the sight of Jace nonchalantly eating the nuts, as if facing a 20-feet-long scorpion designed to kill was nothing but a walk in the park.

"Better me than some poor, unsuspecting bastard." The sound of steel scraping against steel rang out as Jace unsheathed the De Guerre from its scabbard.

Shaking his head in disproval, Jaune had no choice but to comply with his brother. "Then you will need cover, from both the Nevermore above and the smaller Grimm around." As he spoke he scanned around to see what type of gear each person had with them. Nora wielded a large hammer of sorts, Ren didn't have any visible weapons, Yang had her gauntlets, Blake with her cleaver, Ruby had Crescent Rose and Weiss carried some kind of rapier.

"Wait, you don't mean to attack the Deathstalker by yourself, do you?" It was Pyrrha who asked the sensible question.

Jace only nodded in response.

The Spartan was about to argue with the assassin but Jaune interrupted her. "Let him. He has done it plenty of times before."

"Well that is the most stupid thing I have ever heard!" Weiss had recovered from being pulled from a flying bird and is now berating the two boys. Everyone else was in shock at what the two brothers just said.

"Not as stupid as risking someone else's life." Refuted the prince. "I have the ability to kill it, so why not?"

"Are you an idiot! That is a full grown deathstalker! Taking it on by yourself? Do you have a death wish!?" The Heiress was getting impatient. "God! It is like arguing with a child!"

"Watch and learn, boys and girls, watch and learn." Before anyone could stop him, Jace warped away again, this time appearing right in front of the scorpion.

"Damn it!" Weiss was about to charge out to help the hotheaded assassin, but Jaune stopped her.

"Let him take care of it. We need to cover him and make sure he has enough room to fight." The blonde prince then turned his attention to Ruby and started giving out orders. "Ruby take Weiss, Yang and Blake with you. You have the longest range, so keep the Nevermore Company. You don't have to kill it, just buy us enough time to deal with the Deathstalker on the ground. Jace can deal it afterwards if necessary."

"Got it!" The little reaper gave a stout salute and then started to leave with her team.

"Nora, Ren. You guys are coming with me and Pyrrha. We need to make sure nothing else reaches my brother as he is fighting. Conserve ammunition, we don't know what we are up against."

"Got it boss!" Nora mimicked the same salute as Ruby from earlier.

Jace teleported into the clearing to where the Deathstalker stood. The gigantic scorpion was temporarily disoriented but quickly recovered. It brought one of its claws down in an attempt to crush the boy with brute force. Jace quickly side stepped the blow. Seeing that its attack missed, the Grimm tried again. And again, Jace simply walked a bit to the side and dodge the attack.

The scorpion then tried to stab the prince with its stinger, but Jace warped away at the last moment. Materializing above the body of the deathstalker, the black haired teen cleaved off the stinger off at the last segment and then landed onto its back.

The Grimm roared out in pain and agony. There was a moment of silence across the forest but soon Grimm cries rang out from seemingly everywhere. "Calling for help? Good, just more pests to kill." Jace split the De Guerre in two and drove each into the gap between the armor on the torso and the claw as the deathstalker bucked back and forth in an attempt to knock the assassin off of its own back.

Jaune lead his team across the forest, taking care not to step into the clearing and aggravating deathstalker.

"What types of weapons do you have?" The prince still didn't know what they were working with.

"Ooh! This is Magnhild! It can smash anything, and if it can't I can blow it up!" Nora beamed at Jaune.

"She means it is a war hammer and a grenade launcher." Ren explained.

"Thanks for the clarification. What about you?" Jaune brushed aside a branch that was in the way as they moved around closer to Jace and the deathstalker.

Ren raised his hands and a pair of bladed pistols popped out of his sleeves. "Just these."

"Automatic?" Pyrrha had been the one to ask that question. Jaune didn't really use firearms so he wasn't as familiar with them.

"Yeah." The pair of handguns disappeared back into Ren's sleeve.

A screech rang through the forest. The group of students looked back into the clear only to find that Jace had cut the Deathstalker's stinger clean off.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let your brother take on the Deathstalker by himself?" Pyrrha still had doubts about the Arc's plan.

"Just let him do his job…" Suddenly, torrents of shrills and howls eclipsed the Blonde's voice.

"What the!?"

"Dammit! We have to move." Jaune was the first to recover from the thundering cries of the beasts. He drew his weapons. "More are coming. We have to cover Jace."

Before anyone could move however, a shadow descended upon the clearing.

"Where is Ruby and the others!?" Jaune could only watch as razor sharp feathers whizzed down on his brother.

The crimson red eyes of the nevermore shown something unexpected, intelligence.


	10. Well, Now there is this

**AN: Overwhelming majority for those who want to skip initiation and some of the actions scenes. Thank you all for the support you have shown for this story and for me.**

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!" Several in the audience gave a standing ovation as the four students walked off the stage.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by… Jaune Arc!" Pyrrha bumped Jaune's shoulder congratulating him while Nora jumped on to Ren. The team had bonded quite well

"Finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin motioned over the four as they stand before him. Weiss had stood proudly, fully expected to be named as the team leader. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

"Yay, sis! I'm so proud of you!" Ruby was desperately trying to breathe as gave her a bear hug.

"Now, normally hunters-in-training are divided into just four-man teams." Jace stared tentatively at the headmaster. He did not want to be put in the spotlight. It will only cause a lot of teen boys to try to one-up him in order to impress girls. "But with the current resurgence of Grimms, four hunters are no longer sufficient for many missions. As such we are introducing a specialist rank for Hunters-in-training, The Ranger."

"This rank will only be awarded to those whom showed extraordinary skill in the field." Jaune also realized what Ozpin was doing and smiled at Jace, who just lightly shook his head. "Rangers will be sent on high risk mission and if needed, will reinforce standard four member teams in heavy combat. That being said, I am proud to introduce our first Ranger, Jace Arc!"

The crowd cheered as Jace stood up and smiled.

* * *

Ruby was running laps around Jace as the teens walked towards their dorms. "You were awesome! I mean you took down the deathstalker all by yourself!"

Jace cracked a slight grin at the childish team leader. During the initiation, he had smashed the De Guerre against the skull of an ancient deathstalker and somehow caved it, resulting in the Grimms death. "Nah, my brother and his girlfriend did all of leg work. I just cleaned up." Pyrrha and Jaune blushed profusely while Ruby continued to circle around the black haired prince. Yang's smile slightly faltered at the implications. She did not know why, but it bothered her.

"Well I have to go now. My dorm is this way." Jace's scroll rang again, "oh Jaune, we got a package from home, come later."

Jaune got the message immediately, "Yeah, I just need to unpack. Hope Josephine sent some more of her delicious pies."

Jace said good bye to everyone in the group and then proceeded to wherever his scroll is taking him.

He walked along the side of the dorm building, across the Maze garden to the side. The teen could hear the commotion inside the building as his fellow students excitedly got into their own team dorms. Soon, he reached the end of the dorm building. Perpendicular to the residential building was the dining hall, and right next to that, facing the garden to Jace's right was a house.

A manor to be exact.

"Are you serious?" Jace had to check that his scroll actually pointed to that building. And sure enough, the blue pathway on the GPS ended exactly the front door of the three story tall mansion.

All of the windows on the mansion are tainted so none could see into them. Its walls were made of ashen grey stones, adorned with thick ivy, and sculpted with intricate designs and words in a language Jace does not know. The gate was monstrous in its design and decorated as if the maw of a monster, waiting for its prey. A roundabout formed by shrubbery in front of the house, as it flowed out of the garden adjacent to the dorms.

The prince approached the building slowly, taking in all of magnificence of its construction. As he got to the door, a blue hologram on the door lit up, and the words "Place scroll here" lit up.

"Well, this is new." Jace had noted that none of the other dorms had scroll scanners. _It is probably used for covert planning or safe keeping._

The hologram flashed green and the doors automatically opened.

Inside, the atmosphere was hollow, deserted even. It wasn't dusty or eerie, but the lack of lighting casted a darkened tone on the interior. There is a main lobby very much like the palace back in Arcadia: a sweeping staircase built of hardwood and embroidered with gold along with a large chandelier above a circular emblem, imbued into the floor. The emblem was one of a phoenix.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Jace looked around, trying to find the light switch. A quick search and proved fruitful as the teen found what he was looking for on the other side of the lobby, next to a swinging staircase and a passage to another room.

As Jace crossed the room, he quickly sent a message to his brother, informing the latter of his housing location. As he turned on the lights, Jace peered into the other room. It was a fully equipped kitchen. "Actually, this is pretty nice."

The black haired prince had just gotten some refreshments out of the refrigerator when his phone started ringing.

 _Bzzzzz. Jaune Arc is at the door. Bzzzz_

The message was followed with a live feed from the front door above two buttons, one read _Open_ , and the other, _Lock_.

"Jace?" Seconds after the younger brother pressed the open button, his older sibling called from the door.

"In here!"

"Man, why do you always get to live in fancy places?" Jaune shook his head as Jace tossed a drink to him. The blonde knight had taken off his armor and was wearing his hoodie and jeans. "It's the same with that little place you got in Havensward."

"Hey, I am not the one who lives in a literal palace." Jace smirked back. "Oh, by the way, you still owe me for that deathstalker."

Jaune was in a bit of a bind when he and Pyrrah angered the deathstalker and he was forced to promise Jace one thing if the younger brother took cared of the Grimm. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

Jace smiled deviously "I want you to ask out the Heiress."

"Why?" Jaune did not hate Weiss, it's just that he can't not stand arrogant people.

The younger brother just maintained his grin.

"Fine."

As soon as Jaune agreed, Jace added more conditions on, "Oh, by the way, you have to continue until you successfully get a full date out of her."

"Wait! What?"

"Hey, you agreed to to it."

"Fine, so what did you call me here to actually talk about?" Jaune decided to move on and sat down on one of the high stand chairs by the island. "I take it this torture is not the only thing you have to tell me."

"Yeah, hold up." Jace's smirk disappeared as he took out a small gadget the size of a large marble and put it onto the table. As soon as the device touched the table, it activates with a blue glow. "Ozpin is probably listening on this conversation."

"Ok, what is this about?"

"Winchester is going to announce new policy allowing Arcadia to secede. Ozpin wants to connect it to the CCT grid while keeping the old private system. Also he want to inviting Arcadian hunters to attend the Vytal Festival."

Jaune absorbed the information without saying a word.

"What do you think we should do?" Jace spent most of his time operating in the field, so when it came to politics, he relied on Jaune's advice.

"We should go along with him. Ozpin doesn't care for the council, he is after some old timey mission of his own." Jaune paused to think for a second. "Also I will continue mobilizing our covert field ops, while dad gather allies in Vacuo and Mistral."

"I can't help you with that anymore. Ozpin has me on a tight leash intelligence gathering."

"I don't mind that as much. One question though, who are we up against?"

"One of Ozpin's old friends apparently." Jace just finished his sentence when his scroll started to ring again. Someone else was knocking on the door.

"Well speaking of the devil." The live feed showed the headmaster at the gate of the manor. Jace quickly put the jamming device back into his pocket before pressing _open_. "Let's get going."

As the brothers walked into the main lobby they were greeted by the professor walking with his signature cane.

"Hello Mr. Arc, I see you have already gotten quite comfortable with your new arrangement." Ozpin smirked slightly at the blonde prince holding his drink.

"Well, it is all thanks to your excellent hospitality, Headmaster." Jaune did not falter at the provocation.

"Well, just don't let the soft life get to you, it is quite the temptation."

"How can we help you, Professor?" Jace interrupted the faux exchange.

"Well, I would like to discuss about your first assignment." Ozpin chose to be straight forward. Lying to his allies is always a risk, one that often backfired on him in the past.

"What about it?" Jaune was about to ask to leave, but both Jace and Ozpin motioned for him to stay.

"I have a suggestion as to where to start." Ozpin leaned onto his cane. "Not far from the business district is an area filled with poor residents. They are primarily Faunus and White Fang support is strong in that region."

"May I take one of the students with me?" Jace also leaned on to the railing of the swinging staircase.

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Blake Belladonna."

His dark grey eyes, shined amusingly.


	11. Beginning of something Great?

_Please report to Professor Ozpin's residence._

 _O._

Brief and succinct. A simple command that put a simple emotion into Blake's head. Fear. Has he told Ozpin about her past? Is she going to be expelled? Or even worse, turned over to the authorities? The cat turned around onto her back, raising her scroll above her.

"Hey Blakey, whatcha looking at?" Her partner Yang had just step out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel. Ruby went to collect some mail while Weiss was sitting at her desk going over the final bits of their summer assignments before the first day of classes.

"Ozpin wants me in his office for some reason." The ninja turned off her scroll and then stood up. Letting the warm rising sun bathe her body as she stretched her back.

"Are you going to be back by breakfast?"

"I don't know."

* * *

"Do you want a cup?" Ozpin and Jace were sitting around a coffee table in the headmaster's private study. It was a decently large room with a chandelier in the middle and large windows that look across the garden towards the manor the prince was staying in.

"Sure." As the headmaster handed Jace his cup of coffee. The prince took one sip and then paused for a moment. He usually enjoyed coffee, especially in the morning, but it has always been spiked with bourbon.

Grimacing at the lack of alcohol in his drink, Jace put it back down onto the table.

"Not a flavor you prefer?" Ozpin stared curiously at the full cup of coffee.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"If I remember correctly, you liked this blend." Caught red handed. Jace had just realized that the drink had been the same flavor as the one that he had when they first met.

"I don't know. It is just not satisfying anymore." The black haired teen turned away from Ozpin had looked out the window towards his home for the next four years. _Four long years of lies and deceit._

Soon, the elevator pinged and a certain ninja stepped into the office.

"Ahh, Ms. Belladonna, please. Would you like a drink?" Ozpin motioned for her to sit down as Jace turned his thoughts away from self-capitulation and back into the room.

"No thank you"

"Let me be straight forward with you. Mr. Arc here had informed me of your… circumstance." The assassin flinched a little when the headmaster mentioned her identity. "Let me say first that you should not be worried about your past, I have no intention of displacing a well to do student."

"Why wouldn't you?" Blake scanned the room quickly, noting that Jace did not carry any visible weapons on him… and more interestingly, he is not wearing his signature trench coat, just a dark suit and crimson-charcoal tie. The sleeves were lined with buttons not of his own signature singular obsidian crescent, but of the iconic golden double arc. "I am a clear and present danger to the people of this school, am I not?"

Ozpin simply pointed to the boy sitting next to them. "Well, Mr. Arc here certainly seems to trust you."

Jace did not look at Blake, instead choosing to focus on the undrunk cup of coffee. The lack of action scared the Faunus a bit. In her mind she knew, the Crescent Shadows never stops.

Ozpin ignored this awkward silence, "I called you here because we require your assistance. Naturally you will be excused from any classes you miss."

 _Ahh, so this is why I am not leaving_. Blake internally sighed. _I guess this is the price to be free._ "What do you "require" of me?"

"Mr. Arc." The headmaster looked expectantly at the assassin.

"We need your help negotiating with moderate parties of the White Fang, more specifically those in the city." Jace did not show any emotion as he turned on a miniature hologram in the middle of the coffee table. The rays of light casted outwards and then focused into a map. The graphic highlighted certain portions of vale. Blake noted that almost all of these regions were the poorest areas of the city. Riddled with strife and crime, these streets became easy hiding spots for the White Fang and other criminal organizations.

"You want to negotiate? With the Fang? As an authority of Vale?" The assassin is already having doubts about this plan. The White Fang would never negotiate with an openly oppressive government that has denied Faunus rights for the greater part of the last two centuries.

The Crescent Shadow began chuckling, which soon turned into full on laughter. "I am sorry. I think we should tell her."

Ozpin nodded in agreement, but chose not to interrupt the assassin.

"Tell me, Blake, have you heard of Arcadia?" For the first time since the Faunus walked into the study, Jace looked her directly in the eyes. Those mirthful greys orbs pierced through her without any trace of concern.

"The Valean Special Unincorporated territory?"

"Ah, yes. That what you guys calling it nowadays, Ozpin?" The wide smirk on the prince's face suddenly turned into a scowl. "What a load bullshit. Vale has no control over the Kingdom of Arcadia!"

Jace calmed himself and then turned to the surprised ninja. "What the Valean and Atlesian governments have been telling people are lies. Arcadia was founded by my one of my ancestors. It was supposed to be a place of equality and peace after the four cities failed to secure rights for the Faunus in the wake of the Great War."

Blake was mildly shocked at this revelation. She had heard of Arcadia, but everyone said it was a high security mining town in the middle of Grimm infested forests. Only Military personnel and government officials are allowed access. The White Fang had tried to infiltrate it but all of the spies were caught within days.

"You may not speak of this outside of this room, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin gave a stern warning to the magnitude of this secret, "Any leak will be considered a top level security breach by the Valean, Arcadian and Atlesian governments."

Blake nodded hastily in response. Seeing this, Jace continued, "For the last fifty years, Arcadia has been secretly building its own military, readying itself for revolution. Traditionally, the royal family ruled as monarchs…"

"The Arcs." Blake connected the dots.

"Yes, we were originally a democratic monarchy. We had a parliament that legislate law and an elected monarchy as the head of state and executive. Of course, any citizen could've become monarch, it's just that every single king and queen have been a part of the Arc family either by blood or marriage."

"What happened after the occupation?" The cat listened closely as if it was history lesson on the Faunus rights movement, which, partly, it is.

"The Atlas military forced the country open for the Schnee Corporation, and dust mines began to open everywhere. The monarchy and parliament were disposed, but we got to keep our land. Despite it being Atlas' army occupying the territory, Vale had the claim on the region, so they collected all of the taxes. Those taxes didn't come back to our city, instead, the council decided that it was better suited as tax breaks for the elites back in Vale." The bitterness of the mercenary's voice was poignant but justified. "The Faunus were segregated from the rest of the population and poverty levels skyrocketed. As a result crime organizations started to pop up in every poor neighborhood. And that is where we met."

Blake remembered that first meeting. Adam and her and gotten reports of an attack on a remote garrison. "You were in the forest because of crime syndicates?"

"Yes. I was in the process of cutting off supply lines for the Malta Gang when I stumbled onto you little White Fang encampment."

For one of the few times in her life, Blake doubted everything she had witnessed. At first she thought of the vigilante simply as a self-righteous thug. His pride, patronizing smile, all seemed to fit the criteria of being an absolute son of a bitch. But this revelation completely turned her views upside down.

"So, are you willing to help the Arcadians?"

Blake hesitated for a moment, "I still don't know what you want to achieve."

Jace and Ozpin shared a glance. The headmaster nodded while the prince continued to explain their situation. "This is going to sound crazy, but we have credible evidence that the White Fang will try to attack Vale, more specifically Beacon Academy. They definitely have a way to counter the Atlas military or else they wouldn't be foolish enough to try this."

Blake followed the train of thought, "So it is up to the Arcadians to protect Vale."

"Yes, and we will occupy it if need be."

The Faunus paused as she absorbed this new information. "Wouldn't you be just like the people you want to overthrow?"

"Yes. It is exactly like what they did. But instead of lining our own pockets with the wealth of Vale, we will bring peace to the continent and equality for all." Jace did not hesitate to deflect his intentions.

The shocked Faunus turned towards the headmaster, "And you are fine with this?"

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee before answering. He knew this line of questioning will happen someday, he just hoped it wasn't this soon. "My obligations are to the people of Vale, not its government."

Simple and quick, just like everything Ozpin did. He did not care of flare or glory, just the simple satisfaction that what he did was right. Time has taught him that everything he did, sooner or later, will be forgotten, but his deeds may resonate beyond the memories of those he helped.

"Well, look at the time. We should go now." Jace stood up from his seat. The cup of coffee, still untouched, vibrated slightly.

"Where?"

"Where else? To Negotiate."

* * *

A ping indicated to Ozpin that he was alone again in his residence. A sigh was heard throughout the study. If it was up to him, the headmaster would leave his pieces in the dark until they need to know something. And even then they would only know certain pieces. Allies are much easier to control when they can only do your bidding, instead of going off on self-righteous missions of their own.

As he stood up, he noticed the filled cup of coffee left on the table. Coffee had always been a way to cope with the days. It forces his mind to move towards something else, never staying on one subject for too long. But as much as he hated it, most of his daydreams and thoughts end up on that fateful day. What would of have happened if he had brought Beth instead of Sarah along to that mission. Would anything be different? Would those dark grey orbs still stare into his? Would they be able to see each other face to face, lying on the plains of Elysium?

Without much thought he had traversed to the kitchen of his private residence. After hesitating for a moment, he started to pour the unfinished drink into the sink.

 _Plop._

A piece of wax paper landed in the basin. Ozpin picked it up quickly and opened it. Despite being drenched in the black drink, the words were still clearly legible.

 _Junior's Club. 229 West Clover Street. 6 PM tomorrow_

* * *

Blake followed Jace across the campus. She still had plenty of questions about this plan, but couldn't ask Jace in front of the headmaster. "Who are you planning to negotiate with exactly? And for what purpose"

The courtyard was devoid of students as first period was still going on. Their trip had so far taken them through the garden and onto the front of the main building, right where the statue stood. "I thought you might be able to help me with the "who". As for "what", I want information on the organization. Plus their cooperation in the event of a White Fang invasion."

"You know they are a part of the White Fang, right?" Blake did not think she had to point out how stupid the prince's plan was.

"Yeah, but the only reason they joined the Fang is for economic stability. If they weren't as impoverished, they would not choose to join a radical revolutionary group." Jace elucidated his point but stayed composed. He preferred not to raise his voice when he could help it. "Instead, they would use peaceful means to lobby for political rights. Safety of their families is pretty high on their priority list."

Blake could not argue with that. She had always thought of it from the direction of political and social equality but not an economic one.

As they got close to the landing pad, a strange ship silently descended on to the strip. It was sleek and geometrical, no curves. The matte black body did not reflect any light. The ship was designed to be absolutely invisible to all detection methods besides the naked eye. Even the cockpit was tainted and darkened to prevent any glints. It wasn't a big aircraft, larger than a bullhead, but smaller than a shuttle, much like a personal jet.

The vehicle landed with its engines facing the two and a rear bay opened up. A man in a tuxedo walked down the ramp with a tray topped with two glasses and stopped in front of Jace before bowing curtly. "Good day, master Jace."

"Good day to you too, Walter." The prince returned the gesture towards his butler. Walter was a tall man, mid-forties, and with wavy brunette hair. He wore a crimson bow tie and a white shirt underneath the dark black tailed tux. Handsome? Yes; perhaps a bit too handsome.

"And who might you be, Milady?" Walter offered a drink to each of the teens. Jace took the one of closest to him and drank it without hesitation while Blake politely refused.

"This is Blake Belladonna, she will be accompanying me to a meeting today."

The older man smiled knowingly and without question. "Well Ms. Belladonna, it is an honor to meet you. Please follow me."

Inside the ship had a very different vibe. In the first room there were several couches and foot rest surrounding a coffee table in the center. A drink dispenser took up the space adjacent to the door to the next area. The second room was a conference room. Despite having large mahogany table surrounded by leather chairs in the center, the room did not feel crowded at all.

Jace walked across the conference room as Walter refilled his drink at the dispenser. The door at the other end opened and a woman in a pilot suit opened the door to greet him. "What is the destination sir?"

"Home."

"Why are we are going to Arcadia?" Without Jace noticing, the ninja had walked up next to them.

The pilot quietly excused herself as the prince turned to face Blake. Jace motioned for her to follow him as he chuckled slightly. The cat couldn't help but sense a bit of sadness and sarcasm in the laugh "Arcadia is my nation, but it is not my home."

The flight did not last for a long time. They traveled from the cliffs of beacon across the entirety of Vale, through the commercial sector and the middle class housing. As the ship began to descend, Blake noticed that they were at the edge of Vale, where the city meets the sea. A large mansion loomed on a hill ahead, just before the water's edge.

"Why are we here?" The assassin asked as they got closer.

Jace checked the buttons on his sleeves. "We will need some form of incentive in order to negotiate, right?"

Without making a sound, the craft landed and the rear ramp dropped down. As the two teenagers walked down towards the landing pad, they were greeted by two lines of maids, one on each side.

"Welcome to Lafayette Manor."

* * *

*YAWN* Jaune was surprised at how comfortable he slept. At first he thought he would never be able sleep at school after spending his entire life living in a palace, but he have to give credit where credit is due. The bed is firm but soft, the covers don't scratch, and who ever had the idea of body pillows…..

Wait…

…

…

…Body Pillows?

Jaune's eyes shot open as he threw off the covers. His "pillow" squirmed at the cold air seeping into her sleep.

"Mmm… Jaune... … don't" Pyrrha shifted around before finding and latching onto Jaune's arm, shoving it deep into her chest.

The boy froze as he stared at his side. There laid in front of Jaune what many would consider as a goddess. Her wavy auburn hair flowed freely across the bed; her innocent face showed sincere discomfort in the daintiest manner. Jaune shifted his gaze downwards and instantly his heart strained at the sight. Apparently no one told Pyrrha that her shirt and shorts were three sizes too small as they barely…BARELY contained her ample figure.

 _OH MY GOD…. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! WAIT...wait…wait what the hell happened last night? Wait…Nora said she wanted to have her bed next to Ren…Then for symmetry sake, she insisted for Pyrrha to move her bed next…_

"Hehe" A muffled laugh came from somewhere else in the room. Jaune opened his eyes once more only to see his other teammates standing teammates standing over them, scrolls in hand.

"Nora, calm down. You will wake them up." There was an unmistakable smirk on Ren's face as he snapped another picture.

"Hey Jaune!" Nora jumped closer to the bed as soon as she saw that the prince was awake. "Sooooo, did you sleep well?"

"You did this on purpose didn't you? Both of you." Jaune glared at his fellow students while propping himself onto his elbow, right above his sleeping partner. The culprits only grinned widely back at him.

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

"Hey! Sleepy heads time to get up!" Ruby shouted from outside the dorm. Pyrrha finally awoke from the noise and as soon as she tried to get up she bumped into Jaune who was still hovering right above her. "Don't want to be late for the first day of class!"

Ruby slammed open the door and team RWBY all filed into the room just as Jaune lost his balance and fell right onto the champion.

"Oof" Ren quickly threw his covers onto Jaune and the disoriented Pyrrha, while Nora rushed to the door to block the girls' view. Jaune realized what was going on but Pyrrha was still waking up. The redhead tried to get out of bed but her team leader pushed her down, wrapping his arms and legs around hers and putting his hand to her mouth so she couldn't make a sound.

"HMMMMM!"

"Shhh… don't move" through the darkness underneath the blankets, Pyrrha could barely make out the sapphire eyes as she stopped struggling against her unknowing fiancé. "They'll find out."

In the room, the rest of their team is trying to cover up their little escapade from team RWBY.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Nora spoke, standing way too close to the door and blocking RWBY from entering.

"Just asking if you wanna go to breakfast together." Ruby was holding a corgi in her arms as she moved close to Nora and the door. "By the way, where is Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Oh…uhh… they are…" Nora started to stumble at the answer.

"Pyrrha is still in the bathroom and Jaune was called up to Professor Ozpin's office." Ren quickly covered for his partner as he also moved towards the door.

"Oh, Okay." Ruby pipped up again, "still, you guys want to come?"

"Go on a head, we will wait for them."

"Okay, see you in class!"

Only Nora and Ren saw the lilac eyes that stared at the bed as RWBY proceeded out of their room.

 **AN: I know how you like that Arkos fluff. Admit you guilt. Although back on track, sorry for the long hiatus. College apps are killing me. Got twelve schools I am applying to and they all have supplemental writing. So that is where all of my energy has been going to. That and playing LOL. Azir really take practice to get down. HAIL SATAN (LOL reference if you get it, not actually satanist, although used to be satan main... so close enough) XD**


	12. Crown Jewel

_"Hey, Blake, take a look at this!" Willard held a magazine up to the assassin. "Look at this place! They say it is supposed to be the most expensive piece of property on Remnant. It's even bigger than the Schnees' HQ!"_

 _"Let me see. The Crown Jewel of Vale…" Blake peered at the picture on the magazine. It depicted a large Chateau surrounded by gardens, pools, even forests before ending onto a beach and then the sea. "It doesn't look like Valean Architecture. Who built this?"_

 _Willard leaned closer to the cat Faunus as if foreshadowing something, "That is the thing, they don't know who. The entire sub-district was purchased anonymously by a 12-digit bank account with no name attached to it. The guy bought the land, demolished everything and built this."_

 _The assassin did not respond, only focused on the picture, mouthing something Willard couldn't quite hear._

 _"If the owner has trillions of lien at his disposal, what kind of treasures do you think is in his house?" Blake thought about it for a moment, considering the risks and reward of the idea. However, before either could do anything, a gloved hand reached around and grabbed the magazine out of Blake's hand._

 _"Maybe if you stop dreaming, this revolution could actually progress further." The admonishment was aimed at Willard but Blake couldn't help but feel something is off with Adam today. "Blake, next target is here."_

 _The assassin simply stood up without a word and walked away. She repeated the title of the article in her mind again._

* * *

 _Welcome to Lafayette Manor…_

* * *

Those words echoed in Blake's mind again as she was greeted by two rows of maids on the helipad. Apparently, The Crown Jewel of Vale had not been dramatized by the newspapers; just the opposite actually. The entire place seems titanic in comparison to the pictures. She couldn't even see the beach from where she was, the roof seems to expand until it reached into the sea.

"Follow me" Jace moved towards a large gold rimmed rectangle. Blake briskly walked towards the prince. As soon as she situated herself, the rectangle started to descend. The elevator took them down to the next floor.

Downstairs was a completely different world. Gold lined every vertex, every edge. In between, vast murals and paintings covered the ceiling much like the Cathedrals in Mantle. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling like masses of snow, frozen in time, waiting. In between each window stood a maiden of solid gold holding a cornucopia imbued with rare gems and dust.

Blake was dazed by the opulence of the estate as she gazed outward towards the courtyard.

"Any one of these statues can fund your little revolution for six months." Jace interrupted her train of thought as they reached a large doorway. Blake snapped her head around to face the mercenary. She did not speak but just looked at him enigmatically.

"Just saying. If you want to take anything, make the most of it."

"Is this all property of the Arc family?"

Before Jace could answer, Walter tapped on his master's shoulder. "Excuse me, Master Jace, the new market estimates just came in. The VOW went up by 300 points."

"Sell all SDC stocks and turn in the bonds for the southern districts of Vale. We can continue this conversation at another time." Jace whispered back to his assistant. Blake waited patiently at the side while the prince addressed his financial issue. "Sorry about that. But no, this is all my personal property. Arcadians don't have inheritances; each person is responsible for his or her own fortune. After an individual die, all of their belongings are turned into the parliament and used to fund public programs such as education or infrastructure."

Jace continued as he opened the door, "We believe that not everyone is of equal value to society, but everyone should have an equal chance of proving their own potential."

"Welcome home Master Jace." As soon as both of the teens stepped into the room, a blonde maid came forward to greet them. "And who might this be?"

The maid was pretty to say the least. Her silvery voice seemed to ring out like a swallow's call. Her features are soft enough to be considered attractive. But what ultimately piqued Blake's interest is the pair of fox ears that sat above her golden locks along with nine tails that stuck out of her maid uniform.

"Blake meet Charlotte Du Claus. She is the head maid in this estate. Charlotte, this is Blake Belladonna, one of my classmates."

The maid bowed down curtly as she guided the pair toward the table laden with food, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Belladonna. Would you both like breakfast?"

"Thank you Charlotte." He then turned towards Blake, "Hungry?"

The prince took the seat at the end of the table while Charlotte pulled out the chair adjacent to her master. Blake sat down quietly as the maid put a napkin into her lap.

"What would you like Miss Belladonna?" A brunette maid pulled over a silver cart and opened the hood. Blake scanned the myriad of breads, jam, fruits and drinks but focused on a plate of Fish and eggs. The maid smiled shyly and filled a separate plate with the dish. "Tea I presume?"

Blake quickly dug joyously into the meal. Charlotte meanwhile piled croissants, chocolate pudding and apples onto a plate and placed it in front of Jace along with a cup with Café au lait.

"I am curious; how did you leave the Fang?" Jace asked nonchalantly as he dipped a croissant in his coffee. Blake looked nervously at the maids but they showed no apparent concern in her former status. Still, she gulped nervously before replying.

"I kind of just left in the middle of a mission." Jace waited, expecting a bit more. The assassin relented, "Adam and I were supposed to hijack a SDC shipment of dust, but we jumped into the wrong train car and were surrounded by AK-130s and a spider droid. While fighting, I found a moment to cut the section loose and rode off on the next car."

"He didn't chase after you?" A mocking smile appeared on the prince's face, "The Adam I knew would of have followed you to the ends of this world."

"He changed." Blake looked down at her plate and started to pick at it.

"Yes, and you are disappointed in him." The smirk did not leave his face as he took another bite. "Even more it seems you know why. So what is the cause?"

Blake shirked away at the instigation.

"Ahh, it's another woman, isn't it?" _Bingo._ Jace realized something had happened with some woman from Blake's reaction. Now with any luck, this female will be the Queen he is looking for. "What is this woman like? Was she pretty? Alluring, possibly? Promising infinite pleasures for help against a government that has wronged her in the past? Or….?"

"STOP!" Blake did not know what happened in that meeting or how the Crescent Shadow knows of the details. This casted more than a shadow of doubt into the assassin's mind. Adam had brushed her off when she inquired about the meeting, which only worsened the pain. _There was a woman that day, right before our last raid, who was she? What had Adam do with that woman? She came with two others, were they implicated with him?_

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Excuse me." The apologetic look on the princes face only infuriated Blake further.

"NO! You understand nothing!" Blake is now in tears, waving her hand, pointing at the expansive room. "You have all of THIS! You have what most of us could never dream of! What do you know of OUR struggle!? HUH!?"

"You think of THIS just appeared one day?" Jace stayed calm under pressure but the venom from his voice sprayed out towards the assassin. "You think I was born into THIS? As nothing was here before, as if I did not sweat, cry and bleed this?"

Blake did not say a word. She just stood up and marched towards the door, slamming it behind her. Jace rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Charlotte?"

"I will talk to her… Although, you were a little too harsh on her." The fox Faunus walked towards where Blake had disappeared through the doorway. The second maid scurried to clean up the table as Jace continued his meal.

"Meeka." The girl squeaked at her master's call, "Was I too harsh?"

* * *

After exiting the dining hall, Blake ducked into the first doorway she saw. Tears were streaking down her face. Ironically, she found the library. All her life, books had been her escape, yet here she is, in a stranger's home, probably about to be thrown out and the first room she finds is the bookshelf. The assassin was sort of mesmerized by the scene in front of her, books were lined against walls of a circular room and were piled all the way to the dome dozens of feet above where she stood. The tears stopped as she got closer to one particular book stood out. It was the only sky blue binding within the wall of grey, brown and black. There was no name on the binding so Blake took the book out.

As she flipped under the cover, she stopped.

 _Will of the Aurora..._

 _Life isn't always a fairytale._

 _Why can't it be?_

 _Because there is always people who wish to destroy everything we know._

 _Yes, but there will always be people to protect those we care for…_

 _Well Blake, I suggest you read your book more carefully. Because not everyone will judge you by who you were._

Blake jumped when someone lightly tapped her shoulder. She berated herself for letting her guard down. The assassin half expected an angry Jace or uncaring Walter coming to kick her out, but instead, she was greeted by a pair of fox ears.

"Hello there." Charlotte smiled innocently as if nothing has happened, "You seem to be a little flustered."

Seeing no reply, the maid continued, "I am sorry if Jace had been son of a bitch." Blake was surprised at the language coming from such a person but Charlotte did not wait for a reply this time, "But cares for you more than he cares for himself."

"Did you see what just happened in there?"

"Yes, but nothing he does is for his own benefit."

"How do you know?"

Silence. The stillness was palpable within the library as Charlotte rolled up her sleeves and presented the cat with a almost faded tattoo.

 _229_

The cat stared inquisitively into the fox's cashmere eyes, waiting for an explanation.


	13. Past Not Forgotten

_**AN: Hey guys, sorry for not updating. I had to apply to tons of colleges and didn't have time to write this story. Even got reject to my first choice :`( Hoping Rice University comes through for me. Now this chapter is shorter but I should be able to come back to a stable schedule. Just praying that the AP exams will not kill me. Thanks everyone for your continued support.**_

 _James tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't. He tried not wake his wife as he slightly rolled around on the bed. The party had quelled soon after Alex left and the servants of the palace took to cleaning up right away. James had retired to his bedroom to get some rest yet his mind refused to let a couple of things go. He looked up at the chandelier above the bed. The crystals refracted the moon light onto the walls, highlighting bits of glass and gold. As the king laid there, he contemplated of the future. Having a long term relationship with Mistral is critical to the success of his kingdom. They were only a narrow strait away and the ample dust supplies in Arcadia could be easily traded for the manufactured goods from the Greco Confederation._

 _Jaune's engagement would serve only to bolster that relationship._

 _Alternatively, his scion could be sent to Atlas and attempt to establish an alliance there. The kingdom to the north had always been an opponent to an independent Arcadia due to the fact that Arcadia lay on one side of a fairly small straight that separated the main continent from the Mistrali region. Geopolitically it would be disaster for Atlas if the strait became inaccessible, straining the dust trade from Atlas outwards. If Jaune would marry the Schnee Heiress, they could easily forge an agreement and ease the process towards a recognized, sovereign nation. His nation._

 _Although the situation with Atlas could be alleviated with one of his daughters. After all, Jacques Schnee has a son too._

 _Then there was his other son. The literal black sheep of the family. One who refused to cooperate and advance the interest of the family. Of the nation. Their nation. The Arc family is large, but still fairly homogeneous, each member would pursue his or her own talents and use their connections and influence to aid the entire family. Jace refused to do that. He had brought outsiders into their castle without any care in the world; he had brought a newcomer, without checking their backgrounds. He had more than once opened their kingdom towards attack. Yes, the influx of immigrants is good in the long run of the kingdom, but there had been dozens of instances where they had caught White Fang operatives trying to sneak in along with the refugees._

 _Then the boy just upped and disappeared a year ago, but that in itself is nothing to worry about. Jace had enough training to take care of any grimm in the forest and any common thugs he might encounter in the cities. What worried James was the stories coming out of the area around Vale. News of a vigilante going around, disrupting both the SDC and the White Fang, helping anyone in need and killing anything that tries to hurt others. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who this mystery is. His efficiency, his unique pathing through the continent, his M.O. all fit that of an Arc perfectly._

 _Ozpin has been completely neutral in Arcadian Independence, yet this forced James to be cautious. At any moment, Ozpin may become a threat to his family's efforts and his youngest son may be that catalyst. His sister Jackie has not reported of anything in Vale yet so there is no reason to go actively hunting for the kid yet._

* * *

 _Cold. The frigid air of winter air blew against his face as Jace hugged further into his coat as he walked into the small settlement. Soon, he arrived in front of a small inn. The boy relished in the warm air as he opened door. Inside, a lone innkeeper with wavy brown hair stood behind the front desk. He kindly smiled at the boy, "Welcome."_

 _"Room for one please." Jace threw some Lien cards onto the counter. The Innkeeper nodded slightly before pushing the money into a cabinet._

 _"Please follow me."_

 _"Here is your room. If you require a shower please give a notice before hand, we will warm up the water for you. Anything else, please just call." The innkeeper bowed slightly before closing the door behind the him._

 _Jace sighed before laying De Guerre against the small desk next to the bed and took off his coat, revealing a pitch black suit and grey tie. He removed his leather gloves before sitting down onto the chair in front of the desk and took out a small notebook from his breast pocket._

 _"Day 1: Nothing. No signs of her in this town either. Walked into settlement without incident, although there were plenty of guards especially around the mine. People are poor and somewhat disheartened…"_

 _"Meep!" Jace raced to grab his weapon as something squeaked behind him._

 _Silence… Nothing. Jace looked around the room and his attention focused on the closet on the other side of the room._

 _Slowly, the assassin moved forward. He cautiously raised his sword as slowly slid the door open. Inside, musty clothes lined up together, stuffed into a suffocating atmosphere._

 _Then there were two. Two pairs of eyes stared out at him._

 _With one clean stroke, the prince pushed aside the clothes and grabbed one of the bodies inside, dragging the person out. A small brown-haired Faunus fell out. She looked fearfully at him; Jace pointed his sword at the little girl. "Who are you?"_

 _Before she could respond, a shadow flew out of the closet and pounced towards the boy. With one swift stroke, Jace grabbed his assailant with his free hand and pushed her onto the ground._

 _Jace was taken aback at his attacker as he got a good look at her. Dirt caked her face and soiled her blonde hair. A pair of ears could still be made out of her golden locks along with nine tails. With tears in her eyes, this older girl begged to her captor, "Please, my sister is sick. We didn't mean any harm…"_

 _Jace's face softened as he dropped his sword and helped the girl up. "Its fine. Sorry about that." Seeing that both were lacking much clothes and shivering in the cold, the prince wrapped his coat around the older girl and the blanket on the bed onto the younger one. "You said that she was sick." He pointed towards the brunette._

 _The older sister hesitated as her face was adorned with a fearful look. But s_ _eeing no other way, the blonde slowly pulled her tattered sleeve upwards, revealing a dark tattoo,_

 ** _229_**

 _Jace immediately understood the situation "Its fine, I am not with the Atlesians. I won't send you back to the mines."_

 _"She has a terrible fever and there was nothing we could do for her in the camp, so I had to run away with her in the hopes of finding something…" Tears threatened to come out as she professed her history to the prince. Seeing her sister cry, the brunette hazily crawled out from under the blanket._

 _"Don't cry sis, I will be fine." That was all she could muster before she fell back onto the bed, unconscious. Both of the older teens ran towards the bed. Jace quickly touched her forehead with the back of his hand._

 _"She is burning up. Stay right here." He ran out of the room before the blonde could reply. Jace called to the innkeeper as he practically jumped down the stairs._

 _"Do you know where is the apothecary in this town?" He frantically asked the poor man as he nodded._

 _"Just down the street, third building to the left…"_

 _"Ok, just get me a jar of honey and some food to my room. You will stay quiet about everything you see in there and I will make sure it is worth your time, got it?" Jace ran out of the inn as soon as he got confirmation from the man. He could care less about the cold as he ran down the street towards his destination. Counting the houses, he arrived at the apothecary and dashed in._

 _Wham!_

 _The door flew open as he ran inside. The woman running it was stunned as a figure in a black suit literally crashed into her store. "I need some pepper mint, coriander, basil, and black pepper." Jace took out a stack of lien as the woman quickly filled a several pouches up with the order. Her eyes widened at the amount of money that laid in front of her._

 _"Thank you." Jace didn't bother waiting for a reply as he ran back towards the inn. The Inn keeper was preparing the stove when the prince came back._

 _"The girls should be ok; they are sleeping tight now. You might need a new bed and room though." The man smiled slightly as he handed Jace a small container of honey before adding fuel to the furnace. "Couldn't convince the older one to take a bath."_

 _Jace took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. The last part piqued his interest as he stared at the man curiously, "You don't mind that they are Faunus?"_

 _"My boy, no one should be treated that bad, no matter their birth." He shook his head as he lit a small piece of cloth, "I never really liked all of the Atlesians here. They are just harming those poor folks."_

 _"Thank you, sir." Jace smiled, "May I know your name?"_

 _"Walter, Yours?"_

 _"Jace."_

 _Walter grabbed a freshly butchered chicken and put it into the furnace as Jace set a pot of water to boil next to the chicken and started mixing some coriander and pepper mint into the mortar to be grounded up._

 _"I think a chicken stew would be nice for all of us, with some honey tea for the little one, wouldn't it?" Walter mused as he operated the split._

 _"Yeah." Jace wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead as he poured the mix out of the mortar and into a bowl. "We could use the rest of the herbs to season the chicken. It would help her get better."_

 _Jace poured the boiling water in along with the herbal mix, adding a little bit of the honey. The concoction did not smell too good, but it will do. Carefully, Jace filled a wooden cup with the drink._

 _Upstairs he found the older sister sleeping with the younger one. They held each other tightly as the brunette stirred around. Jace lightly poked at the blonde girl. "Hey, wake up, I got some medicine for her."_

 _The girl rubbed her eyes before quickly up and lifting her sister in her arms._

 _"Here," Jace motioned for the older sister to pinch her sister's nose as he carefully poured the concoction down her throat. "That should do it."_

 _"Thank you. I don't know how to ever thank you." The girl is almost in tears, but she managed to muster a small smile through it all. "May I know your name?"_

 _"Jace." Jace's heart learched for a moment. A familiar face appeared in his mind before fading away._ Her smile is exactly like hers. _"What is yours?"_

 _"Charlotte. Charlotte Du Claus." Charlotte bowed slightly as Jace turned around towards the door. "Well, Charlotte, go take a bath, we will have dinner ready soon."_

 _Tear drops flowed silently from the grey eyes as he walked out of the room._


	14. Step One, Complete

Both Blake and Charlotte situated themselves around a coffee table in the middle of the library.

"And a couple of days after Meeka recovered, Jace and Walter got us out of the little town." Charlotte chuckled slightly as she reached for the teapot that sat in the middle of the table. "It's funny really, for someone who goes around saving people, he has absolutely no common sense."

The fox poured tea for both of them, taking care to not to spill anything as Blake raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"You know how he had taken down several cartels?" The cat nodded as she graciously accepted the cup that was placed in front of him.

"Well, he looted all of their cash reserves too. Apparently he never looked at his bank balance when he transferred all of the cash into his own vault. There was somewhere around 3 trillion liens in there and yethe barely had a place to stay. So Walter and I took the next couple of months organizing his finances for him. We found out that he had enough money to buy the entire Havensward community. And naturally, as a people who never really had money before, we bought everything. It is really a miracle that his fortune withstood our abuses" Charlotte guiltily chuckled at their indulgence.

Blake almost spit out the drink. She tried to imagine what she would of have done if she was in their position. Although she could understand why they bought an entire district, she could not help but think of the people they could of have helped with this wealth. Soon, her thoughts fell upon the Prince that was the center of their discussion. She noted how he had generously spent for medicine to help the little Faunus and how he didn't look at her kind any differently. "Do you like him?" Blake decided to ask one of the more uncomfortable questions.

"I like him as a servant to her master." The cat slightly furrowed her eyebrows at the response. Charlotte simply laughed at the bugged face Blake made, "Don't get me wrong. He doesn't force me to do anything, this outfit is mostly to annoy him."

Blake calmed slightly. At least he wasn't treating them badly. Charlotte continued, "I can't say I have never entertained the thought of being next to him for the rest of my life; having children with him; growing old with him. But he spends his days out there doing things that I would never even dream of. Every couple of months, there would be a mysterious transfer of funds into the main bank account, and every couple of months, he could come back home bloodied and tired. I don't think I could ever keep up with him. I could only hope that he would stay here for a day longer, and stay with us one day longer."

Charlotte finally looked up from her drink. She quickly stood up and piled her cup onto the tray and carried everything towards the door. "I think we should go now; you shouldn't keep master Jace waiting for too long."

When they returned to the main dining room, across the vast hallways of gold and silver, they were greeted with the boy of their discussions. Blake noted that he had changed out of his trench coat and tux into a dark blue travel suit and striped red tie. The outfit hugged his body tightly as Walter handed him a silver briefcase.

"You good?" He called out towards the cat Faunus blankly as he walked towards the elevator to the roof.

Blake nodded with the same neutral face that she has always carried as they ascended towards the helipad. She will see for herself of this prince's true character.

* * *

The rest of the flight was nothing of note. They landed, as planned, in the Pemberley district of Vale. This is where most of the poor and Faunus dwelled, and incidentally where the White Fang most actively operated within the city. The prince stood out like a sore thumb as he walked through the streets. A lone isle of pride and wealth in a sea of suspicious, sullen eyes.

Blake scanned the area for familiar faces, finding none so far.

"Where you think you are going, human scum?" A burly Faunus came up to the pair. He stank of grease and sewage while his clothes were torn up almost beyond recognition of their original design.

Jace stared back at the man with an unnerving calmness, "I really don't know. I was hoping my accomplice here would show me the way." Despite motioning towards Blake, Jace positioned himself in between her and the street thug.

The man snarled a smile as he moved closer to the prince. "Well you are not going anywhere, boy. And your friend there is coming with me along with whatever you got in that briefcase of yours."

Blake tightened her fists at the provocation. She then noticed that Jace wasn't carrying any weapons and she didn't bring Gambol Shroud along. Jace remained calm however, even smiling slightly.

"I don't think so. We are on a rather important errand here. However, if you would show me the way, I would be inclined to forget the little provocation you have just showed."

The man bellowed out lout, "Bwahahaha, who do you think you are talking to, brat? You, taking on me?"

Blake expected Jace to sock the man in the face. She did not worry about the prince's safety, but she did not know how they would get out of this situation without disturbing the hornet nest that is around them. But Jace did not wait for the man to finish, before walking past him without a care in the world.

"Well then, if you don't have anything of value to share, I must bid you a good day."

"Hey brat! How dare you walk away from me?" The man yelled after the boy. When he didn't get a response, the thug rushed the prince's back. Blake ran after the two men as the thug swung his fist at the back of Jace's head. To her surprise, Jace leaned forward in the last second, dodging the attack without even batting an eye. The troublemaker quickly recovered and swung again. Again, Jace moved around the attack.

"Stop moving you bitch! Let me beat you to a pulp! Then I am going to show your friend here what a real man can do for her!"

That's it, he had enough. Jace intercepted the third strike in one fluid motion. He forced his hand behind his assailant's wrist and twisted the entire arm backwards. The thug was forced onto his knees as his arm was bent back into an unnatural angle. To add more force, the prince brought his leg up above the man's shoulder and pressed downwards.

"Now listen, punk! I don't have all day and…"

"Stop!" A voice called out from the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion. "Blake! Why have you brought an outsider to our neighborhood?"

Blake quickly spotted an old man walking out from the group. He was of short stature and required a half broken cane to walk across the street. The man was balding slightly and gaining an increasing hunch, yet he did not look too old.

"Oliver." The Cat Faunus bowed slightly the dog Faunus as he walked closer. Jace did not loosen his grip on his assailant as he observed from behind, his briefcase laid a couple of feet away. "I am sorry for the disturbance. We wished to bring an offer to you before we were rudely interrupted from our endeavor."

"Oh? Well then, let's talk inside." Oliver motioned towards the prince whom still kept the thug in an arm lock. "Would you please release the poor man…"

"Jace" The prince loosened his grip on the man's arm before swiftly smashing his other fist against the side of the man's head, knocking him out. "Pleasure to meet you."

* * *

Inside, Oliver invited the pair to sit down at a small table inside his house, around him stood several other people that quickly followed them in.

"So what business do you have with us, sir?" The forced tone was palpable as Oliver began the negotiations.

"First of all, I would like to introduce myself." Jace stood up before bowing to the group, "I am Jace Arc, Prince of Arcadia."

Several pairs of eyes widened in the room as the prince sat back down. "Lies! Arcadia is but a damned mining town for Atlas, you are lying!"

"Henry. Let the boy say what he must, then we can decide what believe." Oliver calmed his compatriots as he stared at Jace inquisitively. "Now Blake, I must say I was surprised when Adam informed me of your desertion. What bring you here to us today?"

Blake knew better than hide the truth from Oliver. He always could see through everything she said. "Adam wanted to use less than acceptable means to achieve his goals. I could not follow along with him."

"Very well. As an old friend, I will give you the benefit of the doubt this time." Then the old man turned towards the waiting prince, "And what is this offer you wish to extend towards us, your majesty?"

Jace did not reply at first, choosing to setting his briefcase down onto the table first and opening it, revealing a large quantity of lien cards. "I wish for information on your organization. I am more than willing to pay in both cash and investments in your community."

Many at the table widened their eyes at the offer, especially since it was their first time seeing so much money at one place. But Oliver was not quite convinced, "If money is all you can offer, why should we agree?"

Jace smiled cryptically before reaching into his pocket. He dropped a heavy medallion onto the table. One he has become much familiar with. Every voice hushed at the table as they saw the sharp black edges of an obsidian crescent imbued into a solid gold background.

"I believe this should be enough." Oliver nodded slightly, his shaking hand reaching out onto the table, tracing the contours of the medal. "Now onto specifics, I am willing to provide complete funding for a bank, a primary and secondary school along with private security at no cost to any of the inhabitants of Pemberley. In exchange, here is what I want…"

* * *

Three hours later, Jace walked out of the house, satisfied with the exchange. He pulled out his scroll and called one of his oldest contacts. "Hey, Junior. Have you gotten a visit from someone named Cinder Fall?... Good, I need you to set up a party for this weekend. I will text you the guest list soon… Yeah, Yeah, don't worry, I will pay for it."

"Who's that?"

"An old friend." Jace looked to the cat Faunus next to him before focusing his attention back to his scroll. This time he called his brother.

"Hey Jaune, we got a party this weekend. Get something nice to wear, Jackie is going to be there."

Unbeknownst to him, the pair of blue eyes wasn't the only one listening on the other end.


	15. Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy

**AN: This is a short chapter because it is the beginning of the next Arc (XD). I am sorry if this story has been advancing a little bit slow, but I think this would make the story more detailed if I have shorter chapters with each event adding onto one another, rather than a mess of a chapter posted all at once. This one will be focused more on Jaune and his GF as many of you have requested, but will also advance the plot in general. If any of you have any ideas you believe would fit well in this arc, please feel free to PM me any time. Praying to coffee and god that I can write this story while preparing for the AP exams and College.**

 _Beep…Beep…Beep…_

Jaune's scroll rang in his pocket as he sat down for lunch with his new friends. To say that his morning was eventful was an understatement. After almost getting caught "in bed" with his partner and secret fiancé, Jaune wished to avoid anything else that would catch unnecessary attention. He chose to sit next to Yang for lunch instead of his partner to lower the chances of another incident, but Pyrrha soon followed him and sat right across from them.

After setting down his tray of food, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll. It was Jace calling. Why would he call at this time of the day? "Jace?"

"Hey Jaune, we got a party this weekend. Get something nice to wear, Jackie is going to be there."

"Wait. Slow down. What?" Jaune caught everything, he just didn't understand what is going on. Jackie was their aunt, why would she be attending a party thrown by one of Jace's acquaintances?

"One of my contacts in Vale is pulling a party this Friday night, we are invited along with Jackie."

"I heard that, but why is Jackie attending.?"

"He is one of Jackie's business partners." Oh, god, it's going to be one of those parties. Jaune will definitely be going. He has to make sure Jace does not wonder off with some "exotic dancer" working for their aunt. But Jaune's line of thought is soon disrupted by the other blonde sitting next to him.

"You guys are having a party?" The buxom wiggled her eyebrows at the prince, "Why aren't we invited?"

All of their friends' attentions immediately turned towards the two Blondes. Even the Heiress subtly listened in.

"Is that Yang? Put her on video." Jaune removed his scroll from his face and turned on the video chat option. Jace's face soon appeared on the screen along with Blake.

"Yep."

"Hello. I see you have my partner too." Yang smirked at the pair on the screen.

"Yes I do." Blake was once again reminded that her work with Jace is strictly confidential even to her new teammates.

"Hey Yang."

"Hey kitty. So Jace, why didn't you invite your resident party girl to your little getaway with Jauney boy here?" Even Pyrrha leaned in when she heard the girl's name. She did not want to take chances when it came to her Jaune.

"Well, this is kind of a grownups party first of all." Jace smirked back at the blonde, "Second of all, I don't think it would be appropriate for you to come with us."

"And why would that be?" Yang raised an eyebrow at the implications.

"Where were you the Friday night before School started." Yang paused for a moment. How did he know? The blonde brawler could almost guess the answer to her question.

"I was kind of busy that night…" She trailed off, not exactly wanting to tell the world of what she has done at Juniors Club. Everyone else, including Blake, now shifted their attention on to Yang.

"Yeah, Junior is not exactly happy with what happened that night." Jace sighed a bit as he rubbed his head. Despite being lenient with his money, Jace still didn't want to waste his resources doing crap like fixing nightclubs. "Jaune, could you talk to her later about it. I don't mind if you bring your new friends but they have to know what they are dealing with."

"Sure Jace. We can talk later about this. Lunch is almost over."

* * *

 _Sigh…_

Jaune was sitting cross-legged on the edge roof of their dorm as he looked out towards Beacon's gardens. Plans of the future dominated the prince's mind as he devised contingencies against whatever the queen could throw at them. The likelihood of a full frontal assault against the gates of the city is unlikely, considering the massive force defending the city and the potency of the Atlesian forces. The would need at least two armies to storm the gates. One to be sacrificed to halt the Altesians and the other one to occupy the city. That would be a very great investment for too little of a gain.

Jaune was still deep in thought when a figure approached him from behind. The prince did not have the same sense of intuition as his brother and was squarely surprised when he felt a sudden slap against his back.

"BOO!"

"ACK!" Jaune jumped upwards as he was shoved against the railing on the roof. He turned around only to be greeted by the shit-eating grin of a certain blonde brawler. "Yang!"

"What?" Yang smirked at the prince as she pushed her body against his, making sure to cover as much surface area as possible. "Surprised? Delighted maybe?"

Jaune managed to keep his blush at a minimal while Yang laughed lightly at his chagrin. "So what did you want lover-boy?"

"Well, Jace told me that you smashed up Junior's Club because he wouldn't give you information on something. Obviously, you didn't get what you want, so I thought I may be able to help out."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Really" She did not fully believe that one of her friends would have the connections to for an informant network.

"Well, not me per say. There will be someone close to my family who could potentially help you."

"But there is a catch."

"Well, not really, just that she will be at the party this Friday."

"Are you asking me on a date, Lover-boy?"

"Maybe."

Both blondes were too busy bantering to notice the emerald eyes that peered from the doorway behind.


	16. I Hope She'll Be a Beautiful Little Fool

"Prrr. Are you asking me on a date, Lover-boy?" Yang smirked at the other blonde as she pushed herself closer to him, trying to elicit some form of reaction she can then further exploit.

But Jaune only smirked back, "Maybe." A small smile graced his face as he too moved closer. He had never entertained the thought of asking anyone out. Status as the scion of a very powerful house in Vale and _de facto_ Prince Royal of the Kingdom of Arcadia pretty much destroyed any chances of a normal/low-key teenage relationship. Also, his father kind of kept him in the palace most of the time and forced him to sit in on a bunch of the diplomatic and administrative meetings. But Jaune is not one to be stopped by lack of in-depth practice. Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you.

Yang on the other hand, had always tried to be a tease. She liked to watch boys who were sneaking looks at her to squirm under the pressure. Of course, she never committed to any relationships, yet. The boy in front of her had intrigued her. Not only had he not really looked at her with the same vulture-like gaze others had often presented. He seems to be concerned about something else entirely. Not that he didn't show interest in girls, but rather…pre-occupied. Jaune didn't even flinch when she threw herself onto him and that did not sit well with the girl. If there is one thing Yang wanted, it was to find out this blonde's weakness. Need some dirt before you can tease after all!

"Are you sure the Champ is not going to mind me snatching you away from her?"

Jaune chuckled lightly at the banter. "Who said anything about you snatching me away from anything?"

"Oh, are you saying that I am not attractive enough?"

"I can assure you that you are gorgeous, but you have to be more than just pretty face to truly enrapture a man's heart."

"Oh really? Sounds like a challenge." Yang pushed even closer. With their faces only inches apart, the two blondes kept their game of chicken until the sound of the door to the roof slamming drew their attention away from each other. Both blondes looked back at the source of the sound. A bit of red caught Jaune's eye for the briefest of moments before it vanished.

"What was that?"

Yang did not attempt to move from her position above the prince, but Jaune gently extricated himself from the brawler before standing up and walking calmly towards the door.

"I am sorry, Yang. We will have to talk about this later."

* * *

Pyrrha didn't know what she was feeling. A life of victories in the arena had denied her the most basic experiences of envy; yet it gnawed at her heart. She couldn't comprehend the feeling eating away at her. Jaune was flirting with another girl. Even asked her out on a date. But why should she care? Well they are engaged of course. But that was a long time ago, should she expect that he remembers the vows they took?

A fearful thought crashed into her mind. What if it was all a joke? What if Jaune was never serious about the engagement? Has he been playing her for this whole time? Tears threatened to flood through her eyes as Pyrrha started running. She didn't stop until she reached their dorm, slamming the door behind her and diving into her bed…Their bed. It still had bits of his scent laced into the linens from this morning. The champion forced herself off of the bed as the dam broke.

She barely had time to drag herself into the bathroom when a crash came through the door. A force of nature had made her existence known to the world as Nora frantically searched the room to find her teammate. "Pyrrha! What happened? We saw you running to our dorm! Where are you!?"

Pyrrha stuffed herself further into a corner in the bathtub. She did not want to have her new teammates see her in such a vulnerable position. All her life, she was depicted as an invincible goddess, and she unconsciously feared the moment that image will come crashing down.

 _Creeak…_ the door slowly opened and a wave of air rushed in from the outside.

"Just give me a moment, Nora. I will be out soon," Pyrrha wiped her eyes lightly,

"You know, you look much prettier when you smile." The Mistrali froze. "Hey Pyrrha."

"…"

"You still haven't changed."

Pyrrha slowly turned around. She feared that the person she is certain that was behind her would see her tear-filled face. But she forced herself to face him.

"You are still that girl that danced with me under the balcony." Jaune smiled slightly as he gently closed the door. He'd rather not have Nora or Ren hear this conversation. Certain information needs to be as tightly controlled as possible, even if more people than expected already knows of some of the machinations behind the academy.

Looking at the girl in front of him. Jaune was confronted with something that he never aware of: Pyrrha really like him. And of course, he liked her too, but she is at the point of tears in jealousy. Jealousy! The prince had to contend with what to do right now. Like the situation with Yang not 5 minutes ago, he had little experience in how to interact casually with a potential…lover…no, not quite…Partner…hmmm...still… He knew how to flirt from all of the balls and galas that he attended in the kingdom but talking about a serious relationship, that was something else. Thinking back to what he had read in the past, stories such as that one where the guy comparing his love to the sun while hiding in a bush underneath her balcony…yeah, that sounds good. But is it though? Does he see her that way? Well, she is better than most other girls he has met. Yang is nice, but he doesn't know her very well, only that she is very touchy… not a good sign. Then there is Weiss… Oh god, he still has to ask her out…F***.

Ok, continuing the original thought, he would like to see what happens with Pyrrha. From what he has seen, she is an extremely kind person despite her successes. The previous experience with her also helps. There is just something there that Jaune could not quite put a hand on. That night when they were dancing there was something there. The way that she moved in sync with his. There was almost a desperation in both of their footwork. Both were practiced in the techniques of dancing, yet both were novices in conveying their feelings. Looking back, Jaune finally realized what he felt when they danced. Her movements were devoid of companionship, raw, and unexperienced in how to interact with someone else. The prince berated himself for not realizing this faster, especially with how shy she was.

Then he looked back at his own past. He too was lonely for a long time. After Jace left, he had no one to really talk to. Of course, there were his sisters, but they were too protective of him to provide reliable advice. There were a lot of other children his age around, mostly children of diplomats and government officials, but they all wanted to impress him, to come closer to him. They only viewed him as the prince. Jaune remembered the night of their dance. They both seemed to have the same desires. The same hunger for true companionship, and the little taste they got that night only made him more addicted to it.

Without thinking, Jaune embraced the girl, "I missed you.". Pyrrha was befuddled for a moment before hugging the prince back. For some reason, she bawled even harder into Jaune's shoulders.

"I missed you too." Pyrrha did not know why she was crying harder. She was glad that she saw him again. There was something soothing about the blond, something that quelled any doubt Pyrrha had. "how have you been?"

Jaune sat himself down, keeping Pyrrha in his embrace. "It's never the same without you there. A lot more boring."

"Same here. I like our dance that night."

"Then would you want to come with me to the nightclub on Friday?" Jaune does not know what compelled him to ask Pyrrha to go with him. It was a terrible idea. There will be all sorts of riffraff at the party, especially if Jackie was going to be there. Their aunt had significant influence over the more colorfully lit sections of the city, and any party with her involved will be filled with both those whom work for her and those whom wished to work with her. The two brothers can get away with attending such an event because the socialites at these parties are not usually a part of the political elite and the chances of them being recognized are minute, but Pyrrha on the other hand, is a very public figure even here in Vale. Inviting her would be welcoming a never-ending stream of rumors and gossip, not to mention that it would draw attention to their activities and Arcadia.

Pyrrha nodded slightly. She did not want to be left behind, especially when it involves him. The champion was confident in whatever she needed to do to grab the attention of her object of affection. Any thoughts of uncertainty were swept away as she gazed upon his smile. He always had that effect on her, whether it was in a garden or a bathroom. Reliving that wonderful memory is always a bonus too.

"I have to warn you though." Jaune decided that he should inform Pyrrha of all of the caveats before letting her say yes. "You need to agree to everything before I can take you there."

Pyrrha did not like what the prince implied but sincerely desired to go. She wanted to experience some of the 'nightlife', something that she has never really been afforded as an athlete and a minor. She nodded again.

"My aunt works with less than reputable people, and there will be a significant number of women there whom aren't there just for pleasure." Jaune grimaced as Pyrrha got what he meant. "you will have to disguise yourself because we do not want to attract attention and when you address her, her name is Jackie Lane. Not Arc."

Pyrrha nodded but looked at him quizzically as to why Jaune took note of such things. She didn't who their aunt was at all and would have had called her by whatever Jaune introduced her as. Jaune understood what Pyrrha was thinking about. "My family is quite large and has a finger in pretty much every pie on Remnant. We have connections and assets everywhere, from the shop keepers that sell you snacks at the Vytal festival, to the companies that builds warships for Atlas. The Arc family uses these resources to discreetly fund Arcadia when Vale took a large portion of our tax revenue. We don't want these sources of income to be public knowledge."

Her father has informed her of the situation with Arcadia and told her to keep quiet about it, but now Pyrrha is even more confused. "Why would you want to keep the family from the public eye? Wouldn't you want more support for your independence?"

The prince chuckled slightly, "How do you think the public will respond, if they find out that a significant portion of their lives are in the control of one single family? That each the people are not really in control of their own governments?"

Jaune gazed into the champions eyes, instilling a slight bit of fear and uncertainty in Pyrrha. "Do the Arcs really control that much of this world?"

Jaune turned Pyrrha around so he could take a better look at her. This is the line of demarcation. The point of no return. If he tells this girl in front of him of the struggles between the major families, his father would almost certainly force them to wed. The Arcs will not allow their plans for an Arcadian Sovereignty to be jeopardized.

Jaune stood up and turned on the faucet. He pondered the consequences of his to be actions as the water warmed. Does he want to take the gamble? He looked down into the water at his own reflection. The azure eyes looked back at him. He almost saw his father, but he also saw his brother. Then again, his father will not know about this conversation unless Pyrrha tells it to others, which proves that a marriage would be pointless both to Jaune personally and politically to the Arcs. This way, he gets to see how Pyrrha will treat him knowing his status as heir apparent to the most powerful family on Remnant while slowly familiarizing Pyrrha to the world he lives in as a potential spouse.

"No. Several other families limit the influence of the Arcs. The Schnees are probably the most visible ones. They, obviously, have a monopoly on dust and has great influence over the Atlesian Military. They do not want the threat we pose to their hegemony over the protection of the four Kingdoms. The House of Winchester is limited by the fact that their power and wealth is based in a republic. It is unlikely that a liberal populace will accept traditional power if they garner too much publicity, but they are still the most politically active in the four kingdoms. They are afraid that we would erode the basis of their political power. Vacuo has no central government, but the trading guilds that do hold power there do not wish for more competition from Arcadian exports. The Belladonnas of Menagerie have influence of the Faunus and were founding members of the White Fang, not to mention the vast quantities of foodstuffs they supply to the four kingdoms. They have similar fears as the Winchesters and Vacuo. The only support we have outside of Arcadia itself is Mistral, whom wishes to challenge Atlas and ease trade to the other continents. And that is how we met."

It was a lot of information for Pyrrha to absorb at once, but she did follow. Yet the explanation only brought more doubt into the Mistrali's mind. Did Jaune truly like her as the girl she is? Or is he a worse version of everyone else she had met, wishing to take advantage of her position or family? She did, however, knew a way to test the waters a bit.

"What about Yang then?" Her emerald eyes gazed up at the boy, but she was not received with the expected cerulean.

 **AN: Hey guys! I am ALIVE…Somehow…College is seriously killing me. I sucked at Calc II last semester and now I signed up for Orgo and Bio, 10 Minutes apart! YAY! Seriously though, I find myself having less and less time to write, even during breaks. I want to continue writing this story, as it is still in its infancy despite being out for god knows how long now. I want to see if I can find a co-author to write with as I still want to write but have not enough time to write long and drawn out chapters. PM me if you are interested. Oh yeah, bonus challenge: Can anyone guess the reference of this chapter's title?**


	17. ANNOUNCEMENT!

**_AN: This is just an announcement/PSA to Teeth's awful writing. I am planning to stop writing any RWBY fanfictions._**

 ** _Seriously, WTF, aura amplification? Dude, you had so much to work with. The teases to Jaune's semblance was so ambiguous and costly that I was actually expecting something spectacular and extremely overpowered. In Volume 1, we saw that his aura healed him faster than most others'; from that Rooster Teeth could have had his semblance make him able to create and control physical aura constructs at a molecular scale or generate extra body parts and be a literal bridging point between humans and Faunus. From all the shit Jaune went through, I was expecting an epic, cathartic montage of action as he sacrifices himself to open a path for Team RWBY and goes out in an inferno of aura that literally scars the surface of Remnant. But a support type aura? What? Is he your literal punching bag? Also I thought we were done with the whole White Knight shit. It is a bad ship and is terrible storytelling. If you want an awkward, non-communicative couple whom somehow finds love go read Pride and Prejudice or Much Ado About Nothing!_**

 ** _I know that RWBY always had shit plot and bad development, but this is a whole new level of horrible storytelling. Pyrrha needed more character development and her death was way too sudden and interrupted the effects Penny's death on the Mistrali's mentality. The Nuckelavee arc had been too focused on Ren and not enough on Nora. Jaune should be less of a wuss especially when he is your main narrative device. Literally the entire first Volume uses Jaune as the vehicle to introduce everything from Aura to Grimm to Semblance and to the academy system. To be honest, if you were going to use him as the framing device for the audience, then put him as the main character and make him more relatable. The form RoosterTeeth chose made the audience feel more like an observer/side character rather than a part of the action and seriously harmed my enjoyment of the series. I could not really connect with the story. Also, the training with Pyrrha made no sense. Rooster Teeth tried to depict that Jaune improved dramatically over the course of his tenure at Beacon yet still made him a bumbling buffoon at the Vytal Festival._**

 ** _Oh yeah, and team RWBY… Where should I start? Yes, I understand you wanted strong, independent female leads. But why is RWBY the main characters then? You are literally going all cutesy with a klutz, a tsundere, a neko and a miss fanservice. I think of all of the characters, Cinder fits the description the best: a woman focused on achieving what she wants and independent of others in the sense that she makes her decisions on what she deems best for her._**

 ** _Blake and her interactions with Sun, for one, completely overturned the whole acceptance of difference between humans and Faunus undertones in the first couple of Volumes, and second, make Blake look completely emotionally reliant on proactive Faunus males (first Adam, now Sun). And how the fuck did you go from annoying stalker whom the girl paid no attention to Mr. lady killer in one episode?_**

 ** _Then you have Yang… seriously, what do I have to say? Her background story is nice, but literally no one is focused on that when both she and her partner are wearing skimpy ass outfits. Many might not notice, but take a good look at Blake and Yang's clothes. Use Yang as less of a fanservice tool and focus more on her quest to get answers from her own mother in an attempt to explore the meaning of parenthood and familial love. And the puns, oh god, stop with the puns, the voice acting is terrible, especially with the puns._**

 ** _I actually have no problem with Weiss's storyline, except for the White Knight crap that Rooster Teeth is trying to pull again at the end of volume 5. Weiss is not who Jaune thinks she is and Jaune is not whom Weiss think he is. Stop trying to say that either will be satisfied with that relationship. Weiss is shallow, and that is fine. It is not her fault and it is not necessarily bad as she has shown great compassion towards her own companions despite still being a tsundere. A person can be fine individual despite being shallow and materialistic, stop being one-dimensional about it. Use her as an antithesis to her father. Show that a status focused individual can be compassionate and relatable._**

 ** _And then you have Ruby. Seriously, unless I am a literal eight-year-old, how am I supposed to relate to her. I understand the whole idea of growth from naivety, but her development is completely overshadowed when Weiss was the one making all of the actual concessions in their relationship. Ruby did not change in any relatable way until witnessing Pyrrha die, which was completely rushed and more likely give PTSD and shock rather than promote growth from childishness._**

 ** _The material is getting less and less bearable and my ideas are getting further and further away from canon. I might as well go onto fictionpress and write my own stories with original characters and an original universe._**

 ** _As a side note, YES HAH, I kind of guessed Ozpin's reincarnation cycle! Although now I think about it, he was cursed by the brother gods instead of requesting for it. I briefly mentioned it at the start of Kingdom of the Crescent Dawn fanfic if you guys are interested._**

 ** _I have set up a FictionPress account with the same username. I will post 'ports' of Kingdom of Crescent Dawn and Autumn and Beyond to Fiction press with major alterations to fit the worlds I had in mind. There will be character deletions and name changes along with plot changes._**


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